


Coffee Notes

by Alexsdttp



Series: Coffee & Espresso [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, But the middle gets rough, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), POV Catra (She-Ra), Queer Character, Slow Burn, Some violence but it's skippable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 34,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24383626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexsdttp/pseuds/Alexsdttp
Summary: AU where Catra works at Coffee Horders, a coffee shop in the city of Brightmoon with everyone from the Horde except Adora. Adora happens to come in one day and Catra is immediately drawn to her.aka what happens when you take bits and pieces of all 5 seasons, rearrange the characters and intentions, and mix it all up in an AU. This is the first part of a two part series I'm working on.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: Coffee & Espresso [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774762
Comments: 172
Kudos: 575





	1. Espresso con Panna

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies in advance for typos. I'm mostly writing this as a way to get through quarantine and so not doing much editing so I can keep writing. If it's too much just let me know. Feedback is welcome :)
> 
> I wrote my first fanfic today and ended up loving it so much that I decided to start writing a longer piece. I don't really have any idea where I'm going with this. Will add more tags too I guess? I don't know what I'm doing :)
> 
> I would also like to dedicate this piece to my best buddy Tony, a true coffee afficionado and wonderful human being. He's a musician/composer and if you're interested you can check out his series of music called Coffee Notes at https://soundcloud.com/anthony-giovanni
> 
> May coffee always inspire us to be better people.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra meets Adora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit on 6/3/20- Not sure if notifies people when I re-post a chapter but just went in and fixed some typos and grammar issues. Also changed the date of the inspection to two weeks.

As hard as Catra tried to stifle her laughter she felt her face softening from her usual resting bitch face to a smirk, then a smile, and then suddenly she was shaking with laughter. Here she was, doing her best to get through another monotonous meeting at the coffee shop she worked at when one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen walked in. Her hair was a natural blonde and she was of average height but clearly worked out a lot, her wide shoulders and large biceps strained the sleeves of her shirt as she set up her laptop at a table.

Catra tried to covertly watch her and pay attention to the boring and unnecessary meeting about respecting the boundaries of your coworkers. Even if no one said it she knew the meeting was in regards to Scorpia very frequently and very aggressively hugging everyone who worked at the shop. Catra had nearly scratched her eyes out the first time Scorpia scooped her up after yelling “Kitty!” She would never admit it since she had a reputation to maintain but she had grown accustomed, fond was too strong of a word, to her hugs.

Catra felt her tail twitching as she continued to watch the blonde woman. Lonnie took her order because unlike Catra she didn’t get stuck in this stupid meeting and got to deal with customers instead. Catra couldn’t hear what she ordered but whatever it was it had A LOT of whip cream. She seemed completely oblivious to everyone around her as she took a sip of her drink and came up with a perfect whip cream mustache. That’s when besides Catra’s best efforts she had burst out laughing. Hordak who had been talking stopped to glare at Catra and she stopped laughing and immediately turned bright red. Catra accidentally made eye contact with the girl who was blushing as she wiped her face clean.

The rest of the meeting went painfully slow with Catra staring a hole into the coffee table and clenching her fists so hard her nails dug into her fists. Hordak always found a way to get under Catra’s skin and make her life miserable. She had been the best employee at Coffee Horders, okay maybe not the best with the customers but she was fast at making drinks and good at keeping her team in order. She took a few quick furtive glances at the girl who had fortunately not done anything else super embarrassing and was just listening to something on her laptop as she drank her drink. As the meeting was ending Hordak announced that the annual inspection of the shop would be in two weeks and, while staring directly at Catra, said he expected everything to be perfect. Catra rolled her eyes as she got up from the table and quickly walked back behind the bar to start her shift. Catra had no idea why she worked here when she hated almost everyone she had ever met. Most of the customers were assholes or needy or wanted to make small talk. Catra didn’t do small talk. She barely could fake her customer service voice and smile for a full shift in the back room, let alone while trying to deal with idiots at the bar. Most days she came home exhausted, but she tolerated her coworkers, the coffee was surprisingly delicious, and the tips were pretty decent. Besides what else was she going to do? She had a Business Management degree that had got her nowhere in life so far and no other work experience. It’s not like she was good at anything else.

Catra was distracted by her little pity party and hadn’t noticed the cute girl walk up to the bar. Catra was midway through her usual too sweet too fake “welcome to Coffee Horders, what can I make for you today?” line that Hordak had made everyone use when she realized it was her and just stopped mid-word, blushing bright red again.

“Um hi, I… just…wanted to order another drink? Single espresso con panna. Extra whip cream please.”

The girl gave her a weak smile and Catra just stared at her, her brain not computing any of the words this way too attractive customer had said. Catra’s tail was swishing back and forth and after what felt like an eternity reality came crashing back at her as she realized she was just dumbly staring.

“…Right! Sorry I’m a little brain dead after that meeting… and sorry for laughing at you earlier about the whip cream” she mumbled that last bit. Catra didn’t normally do apologies but she knew Hordak would have another one of those horrible meetings if he found out she was driving customers away with her trademarked shitty attitude.

The girl blushed and her dark blue eyes, Catra hadn’t memorized the color or anything already, averted down to the bar.

“It’s alright. I can be really clumsy” she said as she self-consciously smiled.

“Let me make it up to you. This drink is on me. Besides I make a way better espresso shot than Lonnie” Catra said and gave the girl a wink.

Catra immediately regretted saying that. She was barely able to afford the three-bedroom apartment that she rented with Scorpia and their other friend Entrapta. And on top of that she winked? Did she get replaced with a romantic comedy double? Catra tried to not gag over how ridiculous she was being.

“Oh wow that’s really sweet of you. Thank you so much! Um my name’s Adora. I just moved into the neighborhood.”

Okay maybe paying for Adora’s drink wasn’t such a bad idea because wow. Her beaming smile was the best thing Catra had seen all day. Wait, the best thing she had seen in weeks, hell years even. She had probably blinded a few people before with how bright she could smile.

“Name’s Catra. The neighborhood can be alright if you know the cool places to hang around” she said while making the shots. She poured them into a cup and then filled the entire rest of the cup with whipped cream. Way more than the normal amount. Could she even taste the espresso with all that cream? She was just about to hand the drink over when she stopped.

“Wait are you allergic to anything?” Catra quickly asked.

“No?” Adora responded looking at her questioningly.

Catra went over to the syrups and put a light drizzle of caramel on top of the literal mountain of whipped cream.

“Um we make our caramel syrup in house and it’s pretty rad.”

Rad? What was with her brain today. Normally she was cool and aloof and not this bumbling, staring, lame worded idiot. She had to get ahold of herself or Adora was going to think she was the biggest loser.

Adora took a drink, well mostly just ate the whipped cream on the top of the cup, and her eyes went gigantic. She practically had stars in her eyes and a smile so big that it must have hurt. Catra noticed the way her well defined muscles tensed as she practically bounced with excitement.

“This is the best drink I’ve ever had!” Adora exclaimed a little too loudly. She immediately blushed as she realized it and Catra was definitely not also blushing at how, for lack of a more perfect term, adorable Adora was, nope not blushing at all.

Everything was going great and Catra was only having a slight existential crisis on whether she should give Adora her number when Catra’s normal shitty world came back full force. A group of three moms, each with a kid in a stroller, pushed their way into the shop and got in line.

Adora turned around and with one last smile said “Thank you again. It was really great to meet you.”

Catra wanted nothing more than to talk with Adora all day but someone had to go and ruin things for her. She would have been more upset in the moment but the second Adora turned around Catra got a look at the most gorgeous ass. Catra’s eyes darted up and down the back of her body, admiring the way her pants hugged her muscular frame. Catra immediately blushed and was still bright red and flustered when the three moms walked up, ordering overly complicated half-calf, non-dairy, gluten free, sugar free drinks. She made the drinks quickly while trying to sneak a peek at Adora, or her perfect ass, as she was packing up to leave.

Even more typical of Catra’s garbage life was that more customers continued to come in and so she couldn’t leave the register to say goodbye to Adora. Lonnie was on break since she worked during the meeting and Scorpia wasn’t allowed to work the register, pincers and paper money really didn’t go together, so she didn’t even have someone working that could take over. She did everything she could to rein in her anger and put on her fake customer service smile, but she felt her nails stabbing into her fists.

Adora gave her a shy wave and left the shop. Catra waved back but continued working. It was probably for the best anyways that she didn’t get Adora’s number. Catra was better off on her own, she couldn’t get hurt and she wouldn’t have to pretend to be sorry when she fucked up and said something stupid.

After an afternoon rush that seemed to drag on forever Catra finally hung up her work apron, coated in caramel and who knows what else, and punched out for the day. She was team lead for day shift which gave her the benefit of not having to clean up at night but that absolute torture of hauling herself out of bed at the crack of dawn. She swore Hordak had given her the promotion to that shift as a way to get her to quit. Catra was way too stubborn for that and thankfully got a free drink each shift, a triple espresso. She waved goodbye to Scorpia who was finishing stocking in the back, immediately getting wrapped up in a big hug.

“Scorpia! We literally just had a meeting about not assaulting other employees” Catra spat.

“Right. Sorry Wildcat! See you tomorrow?”

“Nah I’m off tomorrow. Got some stuff to take care of. See you Monday” Catra said as she was heading out the door.

It had been hours since Adora left but Catra looked up and down the street outside the shop, stupidly hoping for some reason she would still be outside. Catra knew it was hopeless and visibly deflated when she wasn’t there. She sighed, straightened her shoulders and walked the block home to her shitty apartment.


	2. Self Care Sucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has to deal with her very tangled mane and meets Perfuma in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is almost entirely Catra angst. I'm not sorry? Next chapter will have Adora back I promise.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- just fixed a few typos. No changes to plot

It wasn’t like Catra couldn’t take care of herself. She was a grown ass adult who had a job and an apartment and a life. It was just that selfcare wasn’t a priority. Sure she showered pretty regularly and her claws were always clean from doing dishes so frequently at work. But things like maintaining her mane or actually buffing her claws just didn’t happen. Every time she sat down in front of the mirror to comb through her hair she got lost in her thoughts, thinking of all the shitty things she had done, how her life could have been so much better if she wasn’t such an emotional mess. She’d feel her emotions churn inside her till she was so angry she’d throw the comb and storm out of the room.

Today she was going to do this though. Hordak had pulled her aside earlier in the week and told her that if she didn’t maintain a base level of hygiene to his liking then she would only be allowed to work in the back room during customer hours. She had been so pissed that he talked to her like that but she knew he was right. She had to do this and he had given her till the end of the week. She was out of time and even though she could work in the back it meant that she couldn’t be a team lead. 

Catra showered, she had the master suite with her own bathroom while Entrapta and Scorpia shared their own, dressed in a comfy t-shirt and shorts, and then sat down in front of the mirror. Comb in hand like a weapon she glared at herself in the mirror. Daring herself to start, to stop being a coward, to stop being so worthless. The first pull of the comb tugged at her scalp painfully and she screamed out of frustration, throwing the comb across her room.

“Hey Wildcat, you okay?” she heard Scorpia call from outside her room.

Shit. She had thought she’d be gone to work by now but the daily shipment must have been late. Catra stormed over to the door and unlocked it.

“I’m fine. Can’t I get some peace and quiet at home even?” Catra said angrily. Her eyes darting to the floor hoping Scorpia wouldn’t know what she had been trying to do.

“Oh right. Personal space like you said. Totally got it….It’s just that I forgot to tell you! I was walking around the neighborhood the other day and wow oh boy is everyone so friendly here and I ran into this girl named Perfuma, she’s basically the nicest person ever, and-” Scorpia rambled on.

Catra turned around to go back into her room, “Get to the point Scorpia.”

Scorpia blushed a little. “Sorry. Right. Anyways Perfuma opened up a salon and flower boutique a few blocks from here…I thought maybe she could help…Not that you need help. No you’re-”

Catra cut her off again. “Don’t you have to be to work?” she asked rolling her eyes.

“What time is it?” She glanced over to Catra’s bedside clock. Her eyes going wide when she realized she was late. “Oh wow I am late. Thanks for keeping me in line. I couldn’t do it without you Wildcat!”

Scorpia scooped her up in a speedy hug, Catra flailing and screaming as she tried to get away from her, and then ran out of the room. Didn’t close the door, of course.

As soon as Scorpia had left, Catra slammed the door to her room shut again. Catra was pissed. She couldn’t believe first Hordak was giving her shit about her mane and now Scorpia. She stormed into the bathroom and looked at herself again in the mirror. She looked at the bags under her eyes from all the sleepless nights and rolled her eyes. All she had to do was brush her hair, practically the easiest thing in the world and she felt so stupid that she couldn’t. She looked for the comb on the floor, tears of frustration starting to form in her eyes. She screamed again and sat down on the floor, tucking her knees up and wrapping her tails around her legs. Now she was fully crying like a loser and felt even more stupid. She sat like that for who knows how long until she heard her stomach growl loudly. She had been so worked up she hadn’t ate anything all day.

Catra finally stood up, her legs aching for sitting there for so long and wandered to the shared kitchen in the apartment. She could hear Entrapta down the hall, working on something in her room. Catra didn’t really know what she did and really didn’t care as long as she paid her rent on time. A lot of the times she forgot to pay on time, she was good for the money just not aware of things like time and social customs and personal space and not experimenting on the toaster to make if "more efficient." How do you even make a toaster more efficient? Looking in the fridge Catra decided there was no way she was going to cook for herself. She hadn’t bought groceries and had ate ramen all week after work. She went back to her room and checked her wallet. She had enough in there from this week’s tips to splurge on some lunch. Fuck it, treating yourself is self-care right?

Catra slipped on some shoes and headed down to her favorite restaurant. Just two blocks down Salineas Sushi and Seafood had some of the best food she had ever had and went there as often as she could afford it. Her body went on autopilot as she walked there, her thoughts drifted back to yesterday and how Adora had looked like an idiot with her whip cream mustache. Catra smiled to herself at the thought and then almost immediately bumped into a sandwich board on the sidewalk in front of her. She stopped just before knocking it over, her ears flat against her head and eyes furious for someone clearly putting this in her way.

“Oh! Sorry about that! I should have probably kept that closer to the shop… Hi I’m Perfuma! I just opened my boutique here and we’re giving discounts on salon services if you’re interested” the new woman said to her.

“Do I look like I care?” Catra still fuming about the sign and totally not misdirecting her anger with Hordak at this woman. She looked at Perfuma with daggers in her eyes and then continued down the block till she got to Salineas. She started to feel bad for snapping at her, especially when Scorpia had mentioned her earlier, but this was not a good day. She just wanted to be left alone and people kept harassing her.

Salineas for whatever awful reason had been decorated to be a tacky pirate shanty theme. Fake sabers on the wall, intricately knotted ropes adorning every flat surface, and anchors instead of table legs. If their food wasn’t good Catra would never come here.

“Catra! What a pleasant surprise. I suppose you want the usual?” Sea Hawk, totally not a real name but it’s what his nametag said, practically sang at her. His pirate costume, complete with knee high leather boots, looking ridiculous as always.

Catra nodded and sat in her usual booth up by the window. The sun was coming through just right that it warmed her fur as she watched the traffic on the street outside.

After a few minutes Mermista, another dumb name tag, carry her food and drink out and practically threw it down on the table.

“Hey Catra” she said as she groaned and walked back to the kitchen. Catra didn’t think Mermista really liked her but at least respected that she never wanted to make small talk or hang around awkwardly while she ate. Sea Hawk, on the other hand would come out singing to the radio at any chance he got.

Her usual, a seaweed wrap with sesame encrusted seared tuna, avocado and ginger, was by far the best seafood in town and worth every cent. It was still a little early for a lunch rush so Catra had the restaurant to herself, minus Sea Hawk obnoxiously breaking into song every few minutes. The mild pilsner beer she always had with her wrap paired with the food so well and she felt herself starting to relax.

After she finished her food she sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do about her hair. It would take her hours to try and comb through it herself but the thought of going to Perfuma was also torture. She sighed, threw enough money for the food and tip on the table, and left Salineas.

Catra walked back past Perfuma’s shop and her legs stopped moving. She took the time to read the sign that had been moved out of the way of the Sidewalk. Heart Blossom Salon & Boutique. Catra couldn’t believe how cheesy the name was but she balled her fists, tucked her ears down and walked into the shop. Little bells ringing as she stepped through the doorway.

“I’ll be right with you!” she heard Perfuma yell from the back of the shop.

Catra was just about to bolt for the door when she came back out.

“Oh it’s you from earlier….Can I….Help you?” Perfuma asked warily.

Catra felt her nails stabbing her palms. “Look I live with Scorpia and she said you were good with hair or whatever.”

Catra was still staring at the floor when she felt Perfuma put a hand on her shoulder. She tensed but didn’t step back. She could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“I can help…Let me help please”, Perfuma said in way too nice of a tone. Catra couldn’t believe she was doing this but she couldn’t do this herself.

“Have a seat in the chair. This might take a while” Perfuma said to her as she walked over to the front and flipped the sign from Open to Closed.

Catra flopped down into the salon chair, still forcing herself not to cry. Perfuma came over and assessed the damage.

“I can fix.. I mean I can clean this up but it’s going to be best if I cut it short to get rid of the damaged parts” Perfuma said as she poked and prodded Catra’s head.

“Just do it” Catra snapped at her as she closed her eyes tightly, feeling a tear escaping.

Perfuma worked tirelessly to cut out the matted hair and shape the haircut all while being as gentle as possible. She sensed Catra’s distress and was smart enough to not make small talk. Catra never bothered to look up, she was too embarrassed by the whole situation to look up and find out what Perfuma was doing. If she looked ugly she was going to be pissed at her and Scorpia though.

After what felt like an eternity Perfuma announced she was done. Catra finally looked up into the big mirror and gasped. She had never had her hair cut short but she had to admit she looked hot. Perfuma had cut it into an edgy bob that framed her face well and showed off her ears. The natural waviness of her hair gave a nice texture to the look.

“It looks alright” Catra sighed. “I mean…..thank you” she added the last bit as quietly as possible.

Perfuma beamed back at Catra. “I’m so glad you like it! It does really look good on you.”

Catra paid for the haircut and tipped the last bit of money she had. She didn’t want to be in the situation anymore but mentioned that they could work out potential discounts or promotions between Heart Blossom and Coffee Horders. Hell, she had her Business degree, she might as well use it. They worked on some ideas and Perfuma promised to stop by the coffee shop next week to set up a plan.

“Oh Catra wait….Um if it’s not too much to ask. Could you say hi to Scorpia for me?” Perfuma asked as she blushed.

“Yeah sure” Catra said as she left the shop. That was weird. Everybody was so weird.

Catra made it back to the apartment without having to run into anyone. Scorpia was luckily still at work so she locked herself into her room for the rest of the night to binge on garbage food and random videos she found on her phone. She wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow and how everyone would comment on her hair, but she pushed it out of her mind as best as she could. She looked hot so who cares what anyone thinks.

She finally fell asleep late into the night, her phone still playing an epic fails compilation and chips littering her bed.


	3. Clumsy Strikes Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora is the clumsiest person in the world but it works out well for Catra in the end because she asks her on a totally-not-a-date hang out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of going for a big loveable clumsy idiot for Adora. She's still competent for sure but I see her as a very loveable goofball.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- just fixed a few typos/grammar issues.

Catra’s alarm was blaring as she slammed her hand against it blindly. Finally turning it off, she curled up into a ball under the blankets and groaned. Opening shift was literally the worst form of punishment possible. She started to doze off when her second phone alarm went off. Groaning even louder she slid off the bed onto the floor and crawled her way to the bathroom. She clawed her way up to standing in front of the sink and splashed water onto her face. Finally looking at herself in the mirror she remembered the haircut that was now sticking up all over the place. She really did like it, even if Hordak was the one that caused her to have to do it. She lazily ran her claws through her hair to make it less of a bedhead situation and more a purposeful mess. Good enough she thought as she left to get dressed.

Catra picked out her normal outfit, designed for comfort but still a good look on her, a plain fitted t-shirt and black skinny jeans. She grabbed her keys and a breakfast protein bar for the walk to work. Catra could hear Scorpia getting ready for work but since only Catra was needed to open the shop she walked by herself most mornings.

As much as she hated getting up so early that the sun was just barely rising, she did always enjoy the quietness of the morning. She walked sluggishly to work and had just finished her breakfast when she felt something slam into her and push her into the sidewalk. Immediately she went from half asleep to fully pissed off, her tail fluffed out and ears pulled back angrily. She caught herself on all fours but her right hand took the brunt of the force and she could feel that the skin was scraped pretty badly on her palm.

“Oh my god I am so sorry!” she heard someone say.

Catra was so pissed that when she turned around to face whoever this idiot was she didn’t immediately notice it was Adora.

“What are you too stupid to look where you’re going?” Catra yelled still sitting on the ground holding her hand.

Catra’s eyes went wide as she realized who it was. Adora immediately frowning and Catra swore she felt herself die a little inside. But she was pissed and sitting on the sidewalk bleeding slightly at the crack of dawn. Pretty much the worst way to start her week.

“Oh hey Catra. I’m really sorry. I’ve been training early in the morning and I guess I’m not fully awake yet” Adora said looking down at her feet. She spotted Catra’s hand bleeding and immediately knelt down.

“Here let me help. I always keep a few first aid supplies in my pocket when I’m running. I…have been known to run into things. And people I guess now” she said as she pulled out alcohol swabs and a bandaid.

Adora pulled Catra’s wrist closer to her and Catra tensed but kept herself from pulling back. Adora was so close to her and she could really appreciate how good she looked in her tank top and running shorts. Catra snapped back to reality as Adora rubbed the scrape with alcohol.

Adora winced as Catra let out a small squeak of pain. “Ouch yeah I know that stings. Sorry I’ve got it almost cleaned up.”

Adora finished cleaning the scrape and put the band-aid on. It was light purple and had a design of tiny horses on it. Catra was not going to hear the end of it from Lonnie if she had this on at work.

“There all better….I..Uh…really like horses” Adora said as a small blush covered her cheeks. Her eyes were such a beautiful dark blue and Catra lost all mental faculties as she stared into them. Catra hadn’t said anything since she yelled at Adora and had just been staring, very much not checking Adora out.

Adora stood up and extended her hand to help Catra up. The moment her hand touched Adora’s she felt tingling all the way up her arm, her light fur standing up on end. Catra nearly lost her balance as she stood up and Adora quickly wrapped a strong arm around her waist. Adora’s bicep bulged slightly as she caught Catra.

“Hey are you okay?” Adora asked concerned.

“Yeah…uh…just not awake yet. And I shouldn’t have yelled at you….Thanks for the band-aid” Catra managed to mumble as she felt her own cheeks flushing crimson. She was so distracted by how warm Adora’s hand felt on the small of her back and how close they were standing. Adora was slightly sweaty from running but she still smelled pleasant.

Adora smiled and let go of Catra. “Oh I love your haircut by the way! You look amazing.”

Catra blushed even harder, she must have been the color of Scorpia’s pincers by now. She brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked embarrassedly at the ground.

“I..um..Thanks…I should really get to work. I’m probably running late” Catra said avoiding eye contact. God did she feel lame. She didn’t want to admit how much of an effect Adora had on her and wanted to get out of here before her heart exploded.

“It was great to see you again Catra. I hope the rest of your morning is better” Adora smiled and began to run the opposite direction of the shop.

Catra just stared at Adora as she left, watching that beautiful ass again. Finally, her brain started working again and she called out.

“Hey wait!” Catra jogged over to Adora. “If you wanted I could show you around town or whatever if you wanted. I work till 3 today.”

Adora smiled and hugged her super quick. “Sounds great. I’ll meet you at Horders at 3!” she called as she started running again.

Catra smacked herself in the face with her hand as she realized what she had just done. Her palm stung from the impact and she cursed herself even more. She groaned and started to run to work.

Catra unlocked the shop and had the lights on just before Hordak got in. He looked her up and down, noted her haircut and locked himself in his office. If he was going to come in this early she shouldn’t have to suffer through opening up shop. She rolled her eyes and continued bustling around the shop getting everything ready for the morning rush. Scorpia and Lonnie came in right about the same time laughing and talking together before complimenting her haircut.

The morning went by quickly. Catra had just enough time to finish her espresso before the rush started and things really didn’t slow down till after lunch. She tried her best to stay busy and not panic about seeing Adora later. She couldn’t believe how clumsy she was. Was it even safe for her to be running if she had to carry her own first aid supplies? Catra thought back to how close Adora had been when she held her, how hard her heart had been pumping in her chest. And what was with the tingling in her arm when she grabbed her hand? Catra must have had some nerve pain or something from hitting the ground. Must be that. She still imagined the warm feeling of Adora’s hand on her back and was zoning out in front of the sink when Scorpia came back in.

“Wildcat are you okay? Oh my god are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?...Wait are those horses? I didn't know you loved horses too!” Scorpia asked dramatically when she noticed Catra’s band-aid.

“Shut up I don’t like horses. It was the only band-aid I could find. And it’s fine. Leave it” Catra said rolling her eyes and heading back to the front of the shop so Lonnie could take her break.

“Nice band-aid Catra” Lonnie said as she smugly smirked and left to go on break. She groaned before immediately going into customer service mode. Everyone sucked today.

The rest of the shift went by without incident but Catra hadn’t been thinking when she agreed to meet Adora here right after work. She still had chocolate sauce smears in her fur and probably smelled sweaty from running around all morning. As soon as her shift was over she quickly ran to the bathroom to try and clean herself up a bit. It’s not like it mattered. This wasn’t a date. Totally just a normal hang out with the most beautiful woman Catra had ever seen. Yep, going to be just really normal. Walk around a bit and show her some cool places and then go home. She adjusted her hair in the mirror and cleaned a little caramel syrup from underneath her claws before heading out.

Adora was standing with her back to the shop looking at her phone and smiling. Catra immediately felt her pulse quicken as she walked over to her. Adora had changed into some well-fitting gray pants, showing off the firm muscles in her legs, and a long sleeve white shirt. Catra could see the broad muscles on her arms and shoulders.

“Hey Adora” Catra said while smirking. Purposefully trying to spook her.

Adora jumped so hard she flung her phone a few feet away and let out the cutest squeak. She turned bright red as she bent down to grab her phone.

“Hi Catra! You scared me” she said still blushing but smiling wide.

Fuck Catra was a goner. Adora’s smile melted her in a way that she had never felt before. She knew she would do anything to keep her smiling.


	4. Totally Not a Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra shows Adora around the city and finds out how ridiculous drunk Adora can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay buckle up folks. This is a long chapter that I didn't want to shorten and lose things. Drunk Adora is a hot mess but still one of my favorite little bits about the show.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- fixed a few typos

After Catra wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and finally caught her breath from enjoying how much of a ridiculous idiot Adora was they started walking down the sidewalk. Catra really didn’t do well with small talk and just hoped that Adora would start talking to fill the silence. She was used to listening to Scorpia and Entrapta talk on and on and on and even though they could be extremely annoying it was better than silence.

“So…..where are we going?” Adora asked after a few minutes.

“What? Getting nervous that you’re walking around with a total stranger?” Catra asked teasingly.

Adora chuckled and pushed Catra gently. “I think I could take you.”

“We’ll see about that. But to answer your question I thought I could show you Whispering Woods Park. And then if you want we could get something to eat or whatever. There’s some decent restaurants around here.”

“Sounds great Catra” Adora said while smiling brightly at her.

Whispering Woods was a massive park that filled the middle of the city with lush grass lawns, a large pond, ancient crooked trees and some newer additions like a playground and an outdoor fitness area with an obstacle course. They strolled casually through the park with Adora commenting on everything she loved about the park and the city. Without any warning Adora stopped and grabbed Catra’s arm, her tail poofing up and eyes searching for whatever imminent danger there must be.

“THERE’S AN OBSTABLE COURSE?” Adora asked at full volume. She had the same bright look in her eyes but also something new. A look of determination that Catra hadn’t seen before that honestly was a very sexy look on her.

“You said you could take me before? Prove it.” Adora said.

Clearly, they both had a competitive side that was going to quickly get out of control here. Catra smoothed down her tail but as soon as she agreed to the race Adora removed her hand from Catra’s arm down to her hand and was dragging her full speed to the obstacle course. Catra did not make a high pitch squeak sound and she was flung forward, must have been a tree. That same electrical tingling sensation radiated up her arm from Adora’s contact.

The obstacle course consisted of two separate tracks of a balance beam connected to monkey bars, a short sprint through tires to a wall with planks that you had to climb up and then over and down. Catra hadn’t really exercised in a while, okay a long time, but she stayed fairly fit from working at the coffee shop and really hoped her part feline nature would give her an advantage.

“Okay so when I win I get to pick what we have for dinner and ask you any personal questions I want. Deal?” Adora said as she was jumping up and down and swinging her arms to get ready for the race.

“First of all wow. Someone’s a little cocky. Second, when I win I get to pick the place and ask you questions and you cant ask me any” Catra said with an eyebrow raised. Now things were really going to get competitive because she was not about to sit through dinner getting asked all sorts of personal questions.

Adora looked a little upset and suspicious but then her whole demeanor changed as she nodded and got down into a sprint start position.

“Deal. You count us off” Adora said looking intensely ahead at the course.

“Alright on three. One….Two….”Catra started running before she got to three and leapt gracefully onto the balance beam.

“That’s cheating!” Adora yelled but was running full speed to the beam. Catra was surprised when she didn’t immediately fall off and was quickly gaining up to her.

Catra jumped high and ran across the top of the monkey bars using them as a second balance beam. Adora was swinging, taking them two at a time and had nearly caught up already. Shit. Catra was fully cheating and could barely keep ahead of Adora. By the time they made it to the tire run they were neck and neck. However, Catra was far more graceful and could quickly weave from tire to tire where Adora was true to her clumsy nature and stumbled a few times. Even with that Adora was getting ahead of Catra somehow. Was this woman a cyborg? How could she be so fast?

Adora practically threw herself at the wall and had way more upper body strength to propel herself upward. Catra ran full speed from the tires and leapt halfway up the wall and then a second leap to jump over, landing perfectly on the far side of the wall. She was trying her hardest not to look out of breath and dying when seconds later Adora landed on the other side of the wall barely even breathing hard. She had to be a cyborg.

“You cheated!” Adora teased but smiled, showing no signs of actually being upset.

“You should have specified the rules better” Catra said with a shrug.

“Alright fine fair point. But I expect a rematch at some point. But right now, I’m starving. What’s for dinner?”

Right on cue Adora’s stomach growled loudly. Catra smirked and rolled her eyes as she started walking back across the park. “How do you feel about sushi?” Catra asked over her shoulder. Sure, she had just been to Salineas yesterday but it really was the best seafood in town even if the atmosphere was a total nightmare.

“I’ve never had it.” Adora said jogging slightly to catch up with Catra.

“Seriously? I thought someone as muscular and fit as you would probably be eating every healthy thing they could find” Catra asked raising an eyebrow.

Adora turned to her with the dumbest smile and one eyebrow raised back at her “My muscles aren’t that noticeable. Were you checking me out?”

Shit. Catra screwed up. She turned bright red and started sputtering out lame excuses about Adora practically bursting out of the sleeves of her shirt during the obstacle course. No way was she checking her out. Okay maybe she checked her ass out earlier but that was different.

“Hey it’s okay. I don’t mind if you look” Adora said and gave her a wink and a gentle push on her arm.

Catra rolled her eyes so hard she was scared they’d get stuck. She pushed Adora back playfully and let out a small laugh. Yeah Adora was full of herself and an idiot. And also for sure part cyborg.

Salineas was just on the other side of the park and so within a few minutes they were entering the absurdly tacky restaurant.

“Hello Catra and oh who is this? You’ve never brought a guest before? Special occasion? Perhaps a date?” Sea Hawk called from all the way in the back of the restaurant. He leaned against the counter looking like an absolute fool with his head held in his hands, eyes sparkling.

“Adora this is Sea Hawk. He is an absolute idiot but he and Mermista have the best seafood in Brightmoon so you’ll have to tolerate him” Catra said still glaring directly at Sea Hawk. She couldn’t believe that he had asked if this was a date. This was totally not a date. Just showing the new girl the neighborhood. That couldn’t possibly be a date.

Sea Hawk paid zero attention to Catra’s death glares. “Adora. What a wonderful name. I’m Sea Hawk and a co-owner of this wonderful establishment. Catra comes here all the time but if you need any help with the menu please feel free to ask.”

Adora thanked Sea Hawk and immediately walked to pick a seat, randomly picking Catra’s favorite booth by the window.

“The decorations….really are…something here” she said while staring around the room.

“Try and block them out. The food is the only thing that makes it worth it.”

“Alright then what do you suggest” Adora asked while reaching for a menu on the table.

Catra snatched it out of her hand. “Don’t worry. I got this.”

Sea Hawk came by shortly to take their order and bring them water. Catra ordered the Pirate’s Booty appetizer, one Flaming Boat and one Salineas Pearl. Adora gave her a really skeptical look when she heard the names of the dishes.

“Hey I didn’t name the stupid food. Just trust me” Catra said.

“I trust you” Adora said smiling. Catra stared at Adora but tried to keep her face as calm as possible. How could she say that? She didn’t even know Catra. She didn’t know anything about Catra. Catra stared down at her hands, clenching and unclenching her fists. Unsure how to feel about this whole situation. Totally not a date, just a weird situation.

Adora seemed oblivious to Catra’s change in mood. “Well you may have won by a technicality, but you got to pick the food and can still ask me questions if you want.”

“I did win yes. Thank you for admitting your defeat. Anyways what brought you to Brightmoon?”

Adora chuckled and started to explain that her two best friends, Bow and Glimmer, had moved to Brightmoon a few years ago and had been begging her to move in with them. She had landed a job straight out of college working as a security analyst for an IT firm and had been transferred here last month. After getting settled in with her friends, there was no way those were real names Catra thought, Adora decided to start exploring the city during the day. Her work schedule was very flexible so that gave her plenty of time to work out in the morning too. She had been training for Brightmoon Ninja Race, some sort of extreme obstacle course, for six months now. That explained how Adora somehow managed to not be a clumsy buffoon earlier.

“So, your job just lets you barrel people over on the sidewalk and then work whenever you feel like? Seems like a pretty good deal. I can’t even get Hordak to let me work later than 5 am” Catra said sarcastically.

Adora started to respond as Mermista brought the appetizer with her typical style of practically throwing the food down and walking away. At least she hadn’t made any weird jokes about Catra bringing Adora here. Pirate’s Booty was simply a plate of steamed dumplings with a homemade sauce. Catra watched as Adora’s eyes lit up again and immediately began shoving dumplings into her mouth.

“Fthis ifth sthoo gooddd” Adora managed to mumble through a mouth full of food. Catra let out a high-pitched laugh at her and took a dumping for herself.

Adora gulped down her half of the dumplings while Catra had barely finished two and was staring intensely at the plate. Catra sighed and pushed it towards her. Adora looked like she was about to cry tears of joy and immediately gobbled up the final dumpling.

The restaurant started to fill up with other patrons and Sea Hawk was flitting back and forth between tables singing annoying “shanties”, as he called them, and making attempts at being charming while Mermista worked to prepare the food.

Catra managed to think of few good questions to keep Adora talking while they waited for the entrees. Maybe she wasn’t so bad at small talk after all. Turns out Adora was from a small town outside of Brightmoon called Horde. She had seen the sign for Coffee Horders and it reminded her of home so that’s why she had decided to stop in the other day. She also mentioned she lives close by but hadn’t had time with Bow and Glimmer to really get to explore the city. They were both in their last year of college and had just started dating. Adora was really happy for them but sometimes they could be too much.

“If you think they’re bad you should meet Scorpia at Horders. That meeting we had the other day was because she hugged Kyle so hard that he had a bruised rib. Kyle’s a big baby but still.”

Just then Mermista showed up with the rest of their food and a small flask of sake with two cups.

“The sake is on the house, I guess. Don’t ask me. Sea Hawk is so weird” Mermista said already on her way back to the kitchen.

Catra turned around to find Sea Hawk doe eyed, staring at her and Adora while being dragged back to the kitchen by Mermista. She rolled her eyes and looked back to Adora who was just staring in awe of the food. Flaming Boat was a deep-fried roll and a soy paper wrapped spicy veggie roll served on a small boat with a candle and Salineas Pearl was a simple but elegant plate of an escolar avocado roll and a maki roll with daikon, cucumber and yellowtail. Catra was pretty sure Sea Hawk had some pyro tendencies based on the Flaming Boat but would rip her own ears off if she had to listen to him tell her about it in shanty form.

Grabbing the flask of sake Catra poured them both a drink, technically Adora should pour for Catra but she was pretty sure Adora would start eating the table if she didn’t hurry things along. Catra raised her cup and they both sipped the drink. Catra made an impressed face as she tasted the room temperature sake; Sea Hawk hadn’t cheaped out, this was actually good quality. She would have to see about working out a deal on selling their coffee here.

Catra watched as Adora split her chopsticks and with the grace of a two-year-old attempted to pick up a roll. She stuck her tongue out between her teeth and furrowed her brow as she completely destroyed the roll. Catra chuckled, got up and grabbed a pair of kid’s chopsticks, attached at the end and with grippers to make it easier to hold, and handed them over to Adora. Catra felt her heart skip a beat as Adora smiled widely at her before going right back to sticking her tongue out and attacking the food. Even with the kid chopsticks she was disastrous but clearly enjoyed everything she tried as she made sounds and faces almost nonstop. Catra would have found it extremely annoying if anyone else did it but it was somehow charming with Adora. She found a surprising number of things that Adora did cute if she was being honest, even the little poof of hair that she always had her bangs up in. 

“I’ve never had sake before either actually” Adora said as Catra poured her another cup. She seemed to enjoy the drink a lot and was clearly relaxing as she ingested the alcohol.

“No sake? No sushi? That’s torture” Catra asked theatrically widening her eyes, her ears flopping to the sides as she pressed her palm to her forehead pretending to be faint as she slid down the booth.

Adora laughed, kicked her gently in the shin and shrugged. “I grew up in a foster home where we got fed well enough, but it was really basic meals that could feed a lot of kids at once. When I got to college, I started trying new things and Bow and Glimmer have been a big help too. Alcohol just hasn’t been a big priority on the list with how hard I’ve been training.”

Catra was really surprised how casually she mentioned foster care. She debated asking her more but could see that Adora was clearly tipsy based on how she was starting to flop and melt back into the booth while smiling dumbly up at the ceiling. They finished up the meal and Adora managed to grab the check from Sea Hawk before Catra could pay attention to what was happening. Her cheeks flushed red. She didn’t like feeling like people had to take care of her or pay for things for her. They could have just split the check easily and she knew she was getting upset for no reason but sat and pouted in the booth.

“Catra…you’re a good frwienddd…and good peepllee” Adora said slurring her words. Okay she wasn’t tipsy; she was drunk somehow. She had only had the two small cups of sake.

Catra sighed, grabbed the bridge of her nose and tried to get her emotions in control. “Fine alright. You can get this but I’m getting the next time.” Catra was kind of proud of herself. Making compromises and not having a full meltdown? Maybe she could be a decent human being sometimes.

Adora squealed with joy and flung herself towards the exit but stopped midway to wave dramatically at Sea Hawk. Catra gently pushed her out the door before she could do anything else embarrassing.

“Alright we should get you home Adora. Where do you live?” Catra asked to empty air. She had turned her head to look up the block and Adora had somehow disappeared. She could feel herself starting to panic but then spotted her at a nearby apartment complex pushing buttons on the phone door entry system.

“Beep boop boop BEEP BOOP BOOP” Adora made noises as she hit each button.

“Do you live here Adora?” Catra asked as she caught up to her. This girl was a mess but she couldn’t deny how much she loved watching her in pure joy pushing buttons like a child.

Adora stopped mid-movement, her finger extended and hovering above a button. “Beep….Nope” she said with a big idiot drunk grin.

Catra could see the security guard inside the building walking up to the glass to see what was going on. Shit they needed to go right now. Catra grabbed Adora’s arm and started hauling her off before the guard could get there. She got her a safe distance away from the building and asked Adora for her phone.

“Here you go pretty lady” Adora said as she handed it over as she flopped over a railing laughing to herself. Catra blushed and ignored the drunk girl’s comment. Clearly, she was drunk and totally out of it.

Catra pushed a button and Adora’s lock screen lit up showing Adora being crushed in a hug with two people. She guessed it must be Bow and Glimmer. She didn’t have any emergency contact number listed on her lock screen for if she lost her phone or got so drunk she couldn’t get home apparently. So Catra was stuck here with a very drunk girl and no idea where she lived. Great. Totally not a date and more of a nightmare.

She groaned realizing she was going to have to take Adora back to her apartment at least till she could get her sober enough to unlock her phone instead of just stabbing at it blindly. Adora came over and wrapped her arm around Catra’s waist and flopped her head onto her shoulder.

“Okay I take nap now” Adora said as she all but melted to the ground. Luckily Catra got an arm underneath her and was able to keep her up. She half dragged, half walked Adora back to her apartment, glaring at anyone who tried to laugh at them. Getting up the stairs of the building was a real challenge, she had to practically drag Adora by the arm.

Once inside she quickly pulled Adora down the hallway to Scorpia’s room.

“Listen. Scorpia this is Adora. Adora, Scorpia. I need you to watch her for a second while I figure out what I’m gonna do with her. Don’t lose sight of her…. Just give her something with buttons” Catra said as she pushed her into Scorpia’s room.

“Woah you are a big bug” was the last thing Catra heard as she ran down the hallway to speed clean her room. She cleaned up all the food containers, changed the sheets, and threw all her clothes into the closet.

When she got back to Scorpia’s room Scorpia was on her hands and knees looking under the bed.

“Don’t…Don’t tell me you lost her” Catra said annoyed.

“She’s gotta be here somewhere. How does anyone disappear so fast? I was just talking and all of the sudden she was gone” Scorpia was still talking but Catra wasn’t paying any attention to her. Her hears flicked back as she heard crashing and Entrapta laughing loudly. She started running before anything about this could get worse.

“Alright strange random girl you just sit there while I attach this portable scanner helmet to your head. It won’t hurt…I think” Entrapta was saying as Catra barged into the room, grabbing Adora by the arm and yanking her back to her room. She locked the door behind her and took a big breath trying to get her emotions under control. In that few seconds Adora had flopped down on the ground and was looking up at Catra ridiculously.

“Hi Catra” Adora said as she fell over and laid on the floor.

“Come on you big idiot. Get on the bed at least. And here. You should drink some water” Catra said as she’s was trying to pick up the completely melted Adora. After pushing and pulling Adora at every angle she finally got her sitting on the edge of the bed drinking some water. Catra tried to grab some clean clothes for Adora to sleep in from her nightmare closet and just barely managed to push the door shut again.

“Alright you can change into these to sleep in while I get ready for bed.”

Catra threw the clothes at Adora who without any warning immediately took her shirt off and was laughing hysterically as she flopped back onto the bed in just her sports bra. Catra blushed and turned around, not before accidentally getting full view of Adora’s top half. Her eyes went wide as she whipped around and flew out the room before Adora could get more naked.

Catra’s brain was exploding. Okay she knew Adora was muscular but holy shit she had a beautiful body. This was not how she expected things to go tonight. She groaned as she pulled her hands down her face. How could Adora be this hot? And ridiculous. She had never met someone like this that could make her so frustrated and so…happy? She didn’t have time to figure out her feelings because right now there was a very drunk and very attractive Adora that she needed to deal with. Catra quickly brushed her teeth and changed back into the pajamas she had left on the bathroom floor this morning.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door just a crack, afraid of what level of naked Adora she might find. Somehow Adora had managed to change into the clothes Catra had given her and was passed out, arms and legs sprawled out across her entire bed. It’s not like she had been planning to sleep next to Adora but that was a ridiculous way to sleep. Adora was even snoring a little already, which somehow was endearing? Catra needed to get a grip on her feelings. Snoring wasn’t cute. On anyone.

Catra just stood there staring at the bed for a minute trying to figure out what to do. She didn’t want to leave her alone in the room in case she panicked or got sick at night but Catra wasn’t about to sleep on the floor of her own bedroom. She sighed, covered Adora up with the blanket and curled up at the end of the bed with her tail wrapped around her.


	5. Confusion and Caramel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra can't figure out how to feel about last night. Adora embarrasses her by being her oblivious self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found some really awesome fanart of Adora in a cute sweatshirt that I'm picturing for this. Check out their art if you're interested https://www.instagram.com/bibinella1994/
> 
> There's not a ton in this chapter but torturing Catra with embarrassment is a necessary right?
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- fixed a timeline issue so the inspection is in two weeks

Other than the few times Adora woke her up with what looked like some sort of sleep boxing, Catra actually managed to sleep fairly well. She chalked it up to the exhaustion of everything with her haircut and then wrangling Adora. Catra stretched and yawned and snuck a peak at Adora who was drooling a little, her hair splayed out around her. She wasn’t sure what to do with the sleeping woman in her bed but figured trying to wake her up might not end well for her. Catra still had to work today so she grabbed some clothes and got ready in her bathroom. She left a note with her phone number and telling Adora where she was and that she could stop by Horders later if she wanted. And to not touch any of her stuff. Catra didn’t want to leave a weird girl in her room but Hordak would make her day a nightmare if she didn’t get to work on time. And deep down Catra felt like she knew Adora wouldn’t do anything to fuck with her. She had a kind energy to her that radiated warmth and happiness.

Catra made it to work just in time and had the shop ready to go before Scorpia and Lonnie got in. Right as they opened Hordak called to tell her that he would be working from home today in order to prepare all the necessary paperwork for the inspection and that he expected her to take care of everything else. Typical Hordak. Catra did all the work and got none of the credit.

“Scorpia told me all about your crazy date last night. About time you finally showed interest in somebody Catra” Lonnie said teasingly.

“It wasn’t a date. Go get the whip cream cannisters ready Lonnie. We don’t have time to sit around. And Scorpia come here. Now.”

Catra was clenching her fists and was about ready to strangle Scorpia. If Lonnie already knew that meant everyone at the shop would know by the end of the day and harass her till the end of the world. Catra had worked here for the three years since she had graduated college and hadn’t dated anybody in that time. Nobody had been interesting enough. Nobody had wanted to stay and deal with Catra’s bullshit attitude and issues. She had been working on being better, or at least not screaming at people, for the past few months but wasn’t really making progress. She felt stuck here when she could be managing a company or doing something better with her life and so she tended to take it out on people.

“Scorpia just keep your mouth shut okay? People don’t need to know about my personal life.” Catra was trying her best to regulate her tone, to not shout. Her claws dug deep into her palms.

“Geeze Sorry Catra. I was just excited and happy for you. I…I’ll get out of your way” Scorpia said looking upset. Her shoulders slumped forward as she headed into the back to take care of the delivery. Catra groaned knowing she was being an ass to her. She’d figure out some dumb way to make it up to her later. She didn’t know why Scorpia stuck around when she was mean to her but deep down Catra needed a friend like Scorpia. She’d never tell her that though.

The morning rush kept Catra busy flitting back and forth between the register and making drinks. Lonnie worked hard and didn’t press her luck trying to tease Catra but she still couldn’t keep herself from panicking. She had a left an almost complete stranger passed out in her apartment. Well, she had made worse decisions with her life. She still couldn’t figure out what Adora wanted from her. Catra wasn’t good at friends and it was easier to push people away before she could get attached. Adora somehow pushed back against all that but would she stick around if she really got to know Catra? And what was she gonna do if Adora showed up still wearing Catra’s clothes at the shop?

She didn’t have time to process how she was going to deal with that part because in walked Adora, still wearing the baggy shirt and shorts she had lent her. She had also stolen a red and white hoodie of hers. Which meant Adora saw her closet. Catra was mortified and ran to hide in the back room before Adora could see her. Maybe she’d just leave and not order anything. People do that sometimes. Totally could happen.

She peaked through the window of the kitchen doors, her ears perking up as she admired how good Adora looked in her clothes. The sweatshirt really accentuated her broad shoulders and slim waist and the shorts showed off enough of her powerful thighs. Lonnie had taken her order and Adora was looking around the shop while she waited. Adora knocked over the sugar shaker and tried to play it off like she hadn’t done anything. Catra chuckled to herself form her hiding position. Lonnie said something and then pointed to the window where Catra was peaking. She cursed and ducked down unsure if Adora had seen her.

“What are we staring at? Oh it’s Adora! We should go say hi” Scorpia said from right behind Catra causing her to jump.

Catra had no time to argue because Scorpia barreled through the doors pushing Catra in front of her who was desperately clawing at her to try and get back into hiding. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

“Hey Adora! I don’t know if you remember me from last night. I’m Scorpia. I gotta say you are really good at hiding. I didn’t even see you sneak out of my room.”

Scorpia had both her pincers on Catra’s shoulders locking her in place, directly in front of Adora. She was so embarrassed that her cheeks must have been the same color as the pincers. She could see Lonnie out of the corner of her eye just smirking at the whole situation.

“Ha sorry I hope I didn’t give you too much trouble. I’ve uh never been drunk before so thank you both for taking care of me last night” Adora said while blushing and rubbing the back of her neck. At least Catra wasn’t the only one embarrassed by the situation.

“Hey Catra don’t you have a sweatshirt just like that?” Lonnie asked faking innocence.

“Oh! This is Catra’s sweatshirt” Adora said with a dumb smile. She was never going to live this down.

Lonnie finished making Adora’s drink and said if Catra wanted to take a break she could cover the shop for her. With Hordak out for the day they could relax for a little bit before the lunch rush hit.

“Don’t worry Wildcat, we can handle things here” Scorpia said as she scooped Lonnie up in a big hug. Catra stuck her tongue out at Lonnie and grabbed Adora by the hand to lead her through the kitchen to the back alley behind the shop as Adora was waving goodbye to Scorpia and Lonnie. Out back they had a small area with a picnic table and umbrella for the employees to sit under during breaks.

“Wildcat huh? I think I might start calling you that” Adora said giving Catra her signature dumb smile with one eyebrow raised.

“Oh god please don’t. I’ve told her not to call me that so many times” Catra groaned.

“I don’t know. I think it’s cute” Adora said while taking a sip of her drink. A little bit of caramel getting on her face. Catra did her best to ignore the “cute” comment. Adora also thought horses were cute so really her opinion was questionable.

Catra chuckled and instinctively went to wipe the caramel off her face. She made eye contact and finally realized what she did before pulling her hand back and resting it on the table. Adora looked surprised but didn’t pull away from her. What was that about?

“Uh sorry. You had some caramel on you” she said sheepishly, blushing for the hundredth time already today.

“Oh thanks. And I just wanted to apologize again and also say thank you so much for last night. I talked to Bow and Glimmer this morning, they were really worried for me, but I told them how you took care of me and they’d really like to meet you. I had a really great time even if the end of it is pretty blurry.”

“It wasn’t a big deal or anything. I mean I wouldn’t have just left you there.” Catra tried to shrug off the compliment. She had always felt weird receiving compliments and this whole situation was just weird in general.

Adora gently grabbed Catra’s hand on the table and squeezed it. The fur on her arm standing on end from the pleasant electrical pulse shooting up her arm. 

“It was a big deal. I could have easily gotten taken advantage of or lost or a million other bad things. It was a little scary waking up somewhere new but your note was a big help” she said letting go of Catra’s hand and going back to drinking her coffee.

“Yeah well it’s not like I did it because I like you or anything” Catra mumbled. Catra could kick herself. Why would she say that? What a weird thing to say.

“I mean...I didn’t say anything.” Adora folded her arms and smirked at her. Catra wished she could wipe that smug smirk off her face. She tried to change the subject as fast as possible.

“Ugh anyways I should probably get back to work. I can’t leave those two for more than a few minutes or everything falls apart” Catra said standing up from the table.

Adora stretched and yawned. “Yeah I should get started on my work too…I was wondering though if I could see you again soon? Maybe this weekend?”

Catra just stared at her, mouth slightly open. “You…you wanna hang out with me more? After all that?”

“Of course dummy. We’re friends aren’t we?” Adora said confused. “Anyways I’ll text you later okay?”

Catra followed her back through the shop as she waved again to everybody on the way out. Catra was barely registering Scorpia asking her a million questions and Lonnie teasing her. Adora had said they were friends... That she actually wanted to be around Catra. She had held her hand even! Catra rubbed her hands together, trying to get the tingling sensation to come back.

Sometimes it felt like Adora was flirting? She was probably just reading into things. She didn’t have time to think about this right now. The inspection was in two weeks and she needed to get everything in perfect order. Even if Hordak didn’t give her any credit it still mattered to her. Catra worked the rest of her shift in a daze, confused and doubting herself. Lonnie and Scorpia left her alone after a while when she just stopped responding.

The shop was mostly ready for the inspection by the time that Catra left for the day. Right as she got home she got a text from Adora.

 _Hey it’s Adora. Hope the rest of your shift wasn’t too bad_ _😉. Glimmer and Bow say hi!_

Catra groaned and fell face down onto her bed. Feelings were dumb and stupid and she wanted nothing to do with liking Adora…

…Fuck….

She really liked Adora.

Catra groaned even louder into her bed.


	6. The Perfect Cappuccino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra survives the inspection and gets invited to Pride Prom.

The next few days went by in a blur for Catra. Hordak had been barking orders at her left and right, looking for any little thing that could go wrong during inspection. She felt they were prepared but also knew it was better to keep her mouth shut and just get things done. She and Adora text a little throughout the day when she could sneak off to check her phone. It was mostly just Adora sending her memes that she thought were funny. Catra would roll her eyes but could feel that she kept smiling every time she thought about her throughout the day.

By the time Catra got done with her shift she was exhausted. She grabbed some take out on the way home and was just settled in bed with her food and some dumb reality TV, watching other people’s garbage lives was oddly relaxing, when she got a text.

Adora: _What’s Pride Prom? Bow and Glimmer are jumping up and down and screaming about outfits? And queens? Help?_

Catra: _lol dorks. It’s a big LGBT+ prom dance next month. Everybody dresses up and dances or whatever._

Adora: _Oh! They just said there’s food there!_ 🤤

Catra: _Your true weakness. I’ve never been but it’s supposed to be fun I guess. Scorpia’s been harassing me to go for weeks._

Adora: _You should go! Bow and Glimmer are making me go and we could all hang out there._

Catra threw her phone down without responding and went back to eating. She didn’t really do big crowds and loud noises. She’d known she was gay for years but wasn’t someone that really felt she had to celebrate it. Was Adora gay? It’s not like she could just ask her.

Adora: _Please?! Think of the food Catra._

Adora: _It’ll be funnnnnnnnnnn_

Adora: _PPPLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEE_

Catra’s phone was buzzing almost non-stop from Adora sending texts and pictures of kittens with big sad eyes.

Catra: _Okay fine! But I’m not wearing a dress._

Adora: _YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!_

Catra threw her phone down again and groaned with a mouth full of food. She finished eating and sulked her way over to Scorpia’s room.

“Hey Wildcat!” Scorpia said.

“Listen don’t make a big deal out of this but I thought about and if you want we could go to Pride Prom…As friends obviously…Adora wants to meet up there or whatever” Catra said while trying to nonchalantly stare down at her nails. After Scorpia didn’t respond right away she looked up to see what happened.

Scorpia had both pincers up by her face and, tears in her eyes and the biggest smile possible.

Catra backed up instinctively for the door, “Hey calm down! I said don’t make a big deal of it.”

Lightning fast Scorpia was across the room and lifting her off the ground and spinning her.

“Oh my gosh Wildcat this is going to be such a blast. We need to pick out outfits! What do you think I should wear? Do you think Perfuma will be there?” Scorpia was asking questions a mile a minute.

“Will there by tiny food?” Entrapta asked from the doorway.

Scorpia still holding Catra up turned and they both stared at her. When did she even get there?

“Yes?” Catra said looking confused and trying to push herself off Scorpia.

“I’m in too then! Besides I need to collect more data on social interactions between various socioeconomic strata and the complex rules of social etiquette within and without one’s stratum” Entrapta screamed at them excitedly.

Catra stopped pushing away from Scorpia and turned from staring at Entrapta back to Scorpia.

“You get any of that?” Catra asked.

“Nope…Not one bit….This is going to be so much fun!” Scorpia said as she went back to swinging Catra wildly.

Catra tried to sleep that night but was restless between the upcoming inspection and now the stress of having to go to the dance. She dreamt horrifying combinations of herself in a dress and Hordak, also in a dress weirdly, yelling at her about the inspection. Adora had also somehow been turned into a super tall, super buff platinum blonde woman with a tiara? What was that even about. She must really be losing it. 

She got a text the next day from Adora letting her know she had to go out of town this weekend for a business conference and so she wouldn’t be able to hang out. Catra was upset but understood. It’s not like they were dating or anything. And Adora had a life outside of her. Still she was really bummed about not getting to see her sooner. Work went be painfully slow the rest of the week and most of the next. The shop looked spotless every morning but Hordak still always found something to be nitpicky about. It was driving her insane but finally the inspection was tomorrow.

When her alarms went off she felt even more exhausted than normal but tried to get herself ready quickly. She managed to get to work earlier than usual, by two whole minutes, and Hordak was already there. She ran around the store performing last minute checks before they opened to make sure they were ready while Hordak sat in his office doing whatever.

The inspector came early in the morning. He announced himself and immediately asked for Catra to make two drinks: a cappuccino and a cortado. He sat down at a table with Hordak and they discussed things quietly. Catra could feel the inspector’s eyes on her as she worked but tried to ignore the uncomfortable sensation. She had cleaned every piece of the espresso machine and made sure the grinder was dosing correctly early this morning. She set to work on brewing the shots and making the steamed and frothed milk. The inspector didn’t seem like someone who cared about intricate designs with his milk so she simply poured carefully to have a very clean look. The frothed milk on the cappuccino was perfectly white, the cortado a beautiful solid color. She was pretty impressed with herself. She dropped off the drinks at the table, her fake customer service attitude coming through flawlessly, and all he did was stare at her with what she could only describe as a hungry smile. She excused herself and had Lonnie take over the register while she went and panicked in the back room. She was confident in her skills but it was still nerve wracking. She had thought Hordak was bad but this guy was a real creep.

After roughly an hour of being led around the entire shop by Hordak while Catra worked her ass off handling the morning rush, the two of them locked themselves in his office. Catra was anxious and still on alert, unsure of how the inspection went but did her best to keep the shop under control.

Finally, after nearly two hours the inspector left the office, paused a minute to stare at Catra again, and then left. There was something extremely unsettling about him. She immediately ran back into Hordak’s office.

“Catra I’m pleased to announce that the shop has passed the inspection. However, I will need to be out of the office for several weeks in order to assist at another location. You were adequate today and so I am generously making you acting manager while I’m gone” Hordak said as he continued working on paperwork.

Catra was shocked. Was she being promoted? Sure, it was a fairly backhanded way to tell her she did a great job with the inspection but still. This could be her big break to finally get out of customer service and into management. She composed herself before answering.

“Thank you Hordak. I won’t let you down.”

“Be sure that you don’t. Close the door on your way out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so not a whole lot happening in this one. I'm starting to see a bigger picture though and have some good stuff planned for the next one :)
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- Fixed a few timeline issues to prolong the story so instead of a few days two weeks pass in this chapter.


	7. Clumsy Strikes Again: The Sequel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Adora have an early morning hangout before she meets Bow and Glimmer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright not sure if it needs a warning but I do have a pretty creepy nightmare in this chapter. 
> 
> Otherwise mostly just clumsy fluff.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- Fixed the timeline so the trials are in 3 weeks and then a month after that is the actual competition.

The next few days were relatively easy for Catra. With Hordak out of her way she decided it was time to make some changes around Coffee Horders. She set up meetings with Perfuma and Sea Hawk and got them both to agree that they would buy coffee from her at a discount and she would have special discount fliers for both of their stores in her shop.

She really liked the sound of that. Her shop. This was turning out to be a great week.

She had also given Lonnie the task of rearranging things at the prep station to make it more efficient, put Kyle on cleaning duty for nights, and even started to try and figure out some of the paperwork she’d need to start filling out. None of the paperwork was difficult, but it was boring, so she tossed it aside for now. She was sipping a double espresso with her feet on Hordak’s desk and enjoying a peaceful moment to herself.

“Hey Catra your girlfriend’s out here” Lonnie shouted from just inside the kitchen doors.

Catra jumped up out of the chair and was on her way to the front before she even fully registered what Lonnie had said. Blush spread across her cheeks and her heart started to beat rapidly. Get it together Catra.

“Shut up. She’s not my girlfriend. Get back to the register. I’ll let you go on break as soon as I’m done” Catra said as she shouldered her way past Lonnie into the guest area.

Adora was just on the other side of the coffee bar so deeply involved in the process of licking the foam out of her cup she hadn’t noticed her yet. Catra leaned against the back wall and chuckled.

“Hey Adora” Catra called to her smirking.

Adora’s eyes went wide and turned to her, tongue still extended to the cup. She looked down at her tongue, blushed, and pulled the empty cup from her face as fast as possible.

“Oh Hi Catra! I just thought I’d stop by. I just got back into town and wanted to see if I could reschedule hanging out.”

“Yeah that sounds good. Come on back to my office”

“Your office?” Adora asked as she followed her.

“Yeah my office” Catra said as she put her feet up on the desk and stretched her arms wide. “Hordak’s out on some dumb project for a few weeks so I’m in charge.”

“That’s great for you Catra” Adora beamed at her.

“I was born to lead” Catra said sarcastically as she put her arms behind her head.

“Glad to see you’re not letting the power go to your head.” Adora chuckled and hit Catra in the leg.

Catra rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. She knew she deserved this. She had already done more than Hordak had in years. Simple things that he’d been ignoring for years like reorganizing and actually directing his employees. And if she had to be tough on them to get things done her way then she would do what was necessary.

“Anyways… I know a few other places around town that I think a dork like you would enjoy. My next day off isn’t for a fewy days though if that’s alright.”

“That’s fine. Well I’ll let you get back to work” Adora said.

Catra as always made sure to get a good look at Adora’s ass as she was leaving the shop. Her running leggings highlighting the curve of every muscle. She could get used to that view. She sighed as Adora turned out of view and got back to work. Catra put Scorpia on the task of trying to figure out how to complete the weekly order and enter it into the computer system while she worked on some other projects. The rest of the shift went by quickly and she went home to her regular routine of dinner in bed and watching random videos.

She fell asleep fairly early, but she had weird dreams again. This time Hordak and the shop inspector were there. They looked at her and laughed. The way the inspector looked at her chilled her to her core. She tried to scream and move but felt herself restrained. Hordak looked at her and pointed his arm that somehow had transformed into some sort of laser cannon at her. Right before the blast hit her, she woke up with a start. She was covered in sweat and her heart was pounding in her chest. The sun had just barely begun to rise as she groaned, covering her head with a pillow. Waking up extra early on her day off somehow seemed par for the course. Not only was she awake but the anxiety of the nightmare meant she’d be too worked up to fall back asleep, so she got up, threw on some clothes and decided to walk around.

Whispering Woods Park was completely empty, not really a shock. Who came to a park this early? She headed over to the obstacle course and leapt up onto the top of the climbing wall. She tucked her knees up to her chest and wrapped her tail around her feet as she sat watching the sunrise. The birds of the park had begun to wake up and were flying across the morning sky, a few of them landing nearby on the monkey bars. Catra looked around to make sure no one was around before focusing in on the birds. Her pupils went wide, tail flicking back and forth, as she began to chirp chatter at her prey. She got up so she could crouch on top of the wall, angled to pounce, eyes darting as the birds bounced along the rail.

“Hey Catra” she heard from behind her on the ground.

In the panic of being surprised she launched up into the air, hissing as every hair on her tail stood on end. She missed the wall on the way down and started to fall backwards. Before she could hit the ground she fell directly into Adora’s arms.

“Well good morning to you too” Adora said laughing, still holding Catra.

“Don’t scare me like that!” Catra averted her eyes and blushed. The feel of Adora’s arms holding her up like she weighed nothing and the thought of how close they were was too much for her brain this early. She could smell Adora’s slightly sweet and sweaty scent and feel her warmth pressing against her side. She suppressed the urge to start purring. A moment passed and Adora was still holding her, not saying a word.

“Um…Adora….you can put me down now” Catra said finally making eye contact and swishing her tail in Adora’s face.

“Oh right” Adora said as she immediately dropped her arms to her side.

Catra let out a tiny scream as fell directly on to her ass. Twice in the same week Catra had been flung onto the ground because of Adora. She should probably take that as a sign. She had a better idea though.

“Oh my god Catra are you okay? I thought cats were supposed to land on their feet? I’m sorry!” Adora said as she looked panicked.

“Ouch. I think you bruised my rib actually” Catra faked a pained grimace and clutched her side.

She waited for just the right moment as Adora reached an arm out to touch her side. Catra quickly got on her feet and pounced, pushing her over and straddling Adora. She tried to block out the tingling sensation from where her thighs were touching Adora. She definitely wasn’t thinking about how easy it would be to lean down and kiss her. Nope. Not her

“I can’t land on my feet when you drop me from two feet above the ground. What are you doing out here anyways?” 

“I do the obstacle course as part of my training. What are you doing up so early? Also, can I get up now?”

Catra begrudgingly pulled herself off Adora and offered a hand to help her up. They walked together as she gave a lame excuse about not being able to sleep but didn’t go into any details about her weird dreams lately.

“Well if you’re not too tired you could come over and have breakfast at my place before work. I’ve got lots of coffee. And oh you could meet Bow and Glimmer.”

Catra was unsure about the offer. On the one hand she wanted to spend more time with Adora. Plus she was really curious what Adora’s room was like. She cringed at the thought of a room full of pink and horses. On the other hand, she wasn’t great with new people. Adora had been a fluke in an otherwise perfect system of sucking at finding a way to connect to people. Her interest in spending more time with Adora won out and she agreed. She called Scorpia to let her know she was going to be in late and to have the shop ready to go. 

“So when’s the ninja race thing happening? “Catra asked as they walked the couple of blocks to Adora’s place.

“Trials are in three weeks. Then another month after that is the actual competition. You should come watch if you can. I’d feel a lot less nervous knowing I had someone there cheering me on” Adora said as a light blush covered her face.

“I’ll be there. Want me to like take some people out of the competition for you?” Catra said with a completely serious tone.

“What? No? Are you threatening to kill people?” Adora said looking horrified.

“Well not if you’re gonna act that way about it. I’m just a little worried you know since I beat you on the obstacle course.”

“You cheated! Like a lot!” Adora said as she playfully shoved Catra.

“Alright then” Catra said with a teasing smirk and shrug.

Adora’s place was one floor of a house-turned-apartments that overlooked the Singing River. As they entered the apartment Catra smelled coffee brewing and heard what sounded like two people singing loudly.

“Yay! Adora’s back” they both screamed and launched themselves into a group hug surrounding Adora.

“Guys I’ve only been gone for a few hours! And hey I want to introduce you both to Catra. Catra this is Bow and Glimmer” Adora said, still being crushed by both of them.

“It’s so great to meet you Catra! Adora has been talking about you non-stop” Bow said.

“Hopefully good things.” Catra felt so uncomfortable. That feeling got a thousand times worse when Bow and Glimmer group hugged her. She held her arms tight to her sides and tried to withstand the attack without screaming at them. Adora just smiled innocently at her.

“Alright guys give her some space. She’s not used to the best friend squad treatment” Adora said grabbing Catra from the pile and pulling her down the hallway to her room.

Catra breathed a sigh of relief when Adora opened the door to her room and it wasn’t covered in pink or horses. There were some pictures of her with Bow and Glimmer on the walls and a few posters of buff women that she didn’t recognize. Adora quickly picked up some of her clothes that seemed to be spread everywhere around the room. Catra went over to sit at the foot of her bed and let out a big yawn.

“I’m gonna hop in the shower but I won’t be long. Feel free to hang out in here if Bow and Glimmer are too much” Adora said as she let her hair down and left the room. Catra loved the way it framed her face. She was still thinking about that as she curled up in a ball and took a quick nap.


	8. The Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra enjoys her quick nap on Adora's bed before some serious shenanigans.

When Catra laid down to take a nap on Adora’s bed she hadn’t realized the full weight of her exhaustion. The stress of the inspection this week and her weird nightmares had her sleeping soundly when she felt the bed shift next to her. Her ears flicked forward and she smelled the sweet scent of Adora’s body wash but kept her eyes closed enjoying the sun beams that warmed her resting spot. Adora gently put a hand on her back and was rubbing it in small circles. She trailed her hand up into Catra’s hair and rubbed right behind her ear. Catra was still too asleep to fight her natural instincts and gently purred and arched her head towards Adora’s hand.

“Are you purring?” Adora asked.

Catra just grunted as a response and pushed her head harder against Adora’s hand. She chuckled and obliged. Catra’s purr vibrated loudly as the tip of her tail gently flicked back and forth. If she was more awake, she’d be mortified but the combination of the warm spot and Adora’s hand had her too relaxed to be self-conscious. Adora’s presence was deeply comforting and she felt herself falling back asleep.

She heard a sound from the doorway and finally woke up, peeking one eye open. Bow and Glimmer were standing in the doorway hugging each other and making stupid blushing faces at her and Adora. Catra stopped her purr but didn’t move away from the hand rubbing her ear.

“What are you staring at?” Catra grumbled.

“It’s just…..SO CUTE” Bow said in a high pitched squeak.

Alright that was the final straw. She batted Adora’s hand away and sat up. She folded her arms and pouted.

“I’m not cute” she said glaring at Bow.

She looked over at Adora who let out a small snort and was blushing.

“I’m not cute” Catra yelled as she balled up her fists and her tail poofed up.

“The angrier you get the cuter you are!” Bow said with his fists pushed up against his chest and eyes glowing.

Catra groaned and stood up. Could she get away with murdering Adora’s friends? Probably not. She clenched her fists and stood there pouting. She had woken up early from nightmares, got dropped on the ground by Adora, purred in front of Adora, and now Bow had called her cute. How could this day get any worse?

“Alright enough teasing. Catra, are you ready for breakfast?” Adora said as she stood up and headed for the door.

Catra grumpily followed the group out to the kitchen. While she had been napping, they had finished preparing breakfast and coffee. It would have been touching if they weren’t so annoying. She plopped down into a chair as Adora brought her a cup of coffee, smiling down at her. She had no right to be this attractive and nice. And perfect. And everything Catra wanted.

As they sat and ate Bow and Glimmer talked nonstop about Pride Prom, Adora, their life here, and any other random thought that popped into their heads. They tried to ask questions and she gave them short vague answers. She knew she could try harder to be good at this whole socializing thing but the embarrassment of this morning was still too much. Adora gave her a weak smile and a gentle squeeze on her thigh. Catra sighed and tried to get a handle on all the emotions swirling inside of her. This was going to be a long day.

“Um…thanks for breakfast. I can help with cleaning up or whatever” Catra said staring at the table.

“That would be great. Come on you can help me do dishes. Bow and Glimmer did most of the cooking…I um don’t know how to cook really” Adora said with a shy smile.

“And you’re still banned from using the stove after last time” Glimmer reminded her.

“It was one time! And I put the fire out” Adora yelled.

Catra looked up at the ceiling and saw the faint outline of a smoke stain above the stove. She let out a small laugh. Yeah that seemed about right for Adora. Hot disaster.

Bow and Glimmer exchanged a weird look and then excused themselves to their room. She could hear them giggling and listening to music. Adora was already over at the sink washing dishes. Catra picked up the rest of them from the table and grabbed a towel to help dry.

“Your friends seem….nice” Catra said as she lazily dried a dish.

“Yeah sorry, I know they can be a lot. They’re my best friends though and great people. They got me through some really tough times after I left foster care and started college.”

Catra was listening to Adora talk but not responding. She wasn’t jealous obviously of Adora’s relationship with them. She’d just never had anything like that. People that would obviously do anything for her. She was still drying the same already dry dish when she felt water splash her face. All her hairs stood up on end and she hissed.

“Hey! What was that for?” Catra yelled.

“You were purring earlier….It was pretty cute” Adora said with a smirk.

“I’m…Not….Cute” Catra said as she reached into the sink and threw water at Adora. She turned to Catra a determined look in her face. Oh no. Catra had miscalculated. An all-out splash war started as they both flung water back and forth at each other. They were completely covered in water and soap bubbles within seconds. Adora was laughing so hard as she scooped up the last of the soap foam from the sink and dropped it directly onto Catra’s head. Catra stopped fighting back and raised her hands in mock seriousness.

“AHH. NOOO… Betrayal!” She shouted as she sank dramatically to the floor.

Adora laughed even harder and smushed the soap foam further into her hair. They sat on the floor laughing and catching their breath. Catra loved the way Adora laughed when they were together. Her smile was infectious and she felt the warmth of Adora’s energy rush over her.

Adora grabbed the drying towel and threw at Catra’s face. “Alright let’s go get you dried off. I washed the clothes I borrowed so you can change into those if you want. I’m gonna change…again… and then send a quick email for work.”

Adora grabbed Catra’s extra clothes from her room and showed Catra where the bathroom was. Catra washed her face and peeled off the soaking wet clothes and changed into the comfy sweatshirt and shorts. She pulled the neck of the sweatshirt and smelled it. It was clean but she could still smell Adora’s scent. She sighed, realizing how much it comforted her. She had to get a grip on her feelings for Adora somehow or she was going to turn into a big sappy idiot. She had a reputation to maintain.

Catra shoved her hands into the front sweatshirt pocket and headed back to Adora’s room. Bow and Glimmer were there standing over Adora who was trying to concentrate on her email.

“Come on Adora. Concentrate! You got this” Glimmer said from directly behind Adora.

“Yeah Adora come on” Bow teased.

“Ooo are we messing with Adora?” Catra asked.

She walked over and jumped directly into Adora’s lap with a smirk.

“Catra do you have to sit right there?” Adora asked exasperated, still trying to reach for the keyboard.

“What? I’m not doing anything?” Catra replied acting innocent. Her tail swishing back in forth in Adora’s face.

Adora flicked out of the way and tried to go back to writing her email. She made it a few lines with everyone staring at her.

“Guys come on. I gotta send this” Adora whined.

“Alright alright. We’ll get out of your way. Catra it was really nice to meet you. . We’ll see you at Pride Prom or hopefully sooner!” Bow said as he grabbed Glimmer by the hand and left the room.

Catra took one last look at Adora and hopped out of her lap.

“I should really get headed to work. But thanks again for breakfast. The soap fight was terrible though. I can’t believe you’d betray me like that” she said sarcastically.

“Um you started all of this. I just was defending myself” Adora said crossing her arms an raising her eyebrow.

“Yeah whatever” Catra gave her a dismissive wave and started heading for the front door.

They worked out a time for Catra to come over on her day off for the hang out they had planned. Still definitely not a date. Adora gave her a quick hug as she left. As soon as the door closed Catra leaned back against the wall and groaned. She gently hit her head on the wall. Her feelings for Adora were only growing stronger and she still didn’t know what Adora wanted. If she even liked Catra. If it was all some sort of prank. She shoved her hands back in the sweatshirt and walked home. She’d take the rest of the afternoon to shove her feelings down and get under control. As much as she wanted Adora she was terrified of the idea of losing her as a friend.

The next few days went by in a blur with Catra’s thoughts drifting to Adora almost constantly. Work was annoying but her team had accepted her as a manager and were listening to her orders fairly well. She actually really enjoyed running the shop and even tried to interact with customers on a better level. She daydreamed a little bit about what it might be like to own her own coffee shop. Where she could make the rules and do a way better job than Horders. It was just a dumb daydream though. Even with the extra money she was making as manager it would take her years and years to save up enough to buy her own place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene in season 1 where Catra yells betrayal is one of my favorite dumb little bits. Also this chapter was almost too cute too write. Almost.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- Fixed the timeline so the next hangout is in a few days. Added a small paragraph at the end where Catra considers what it might be like to own her own shop.


	9. Sweet Temptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra's feelings for Adora are getting stronger and it's getting harder to ignore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright this is just a little teaser for what's about to come. 
> 
> Also I've got some plans this weekend and so the next chapter might be a little later than the usual speed. Dont worry though I'm still typing like crazy.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- Fixed a timeline issue so this is Catra's day off, roughly three days later than the previous chapter.

It was finally Catra’s day off and she spent the morning and afternoon around her apartment. She cleaned her room and bathroom, did laundry, organized her clothes and even manicured her claws. It was amazing what she could get done when she was busy trying to ignore feelings about Adora. Scorpia was at work but Entrapta was home. She could hear her talking into her recorder and every once in awhile there was loud banging and clanking sounds. Entrapta scared Catra a little, in a mad scientist way, and so she stayed away from her.

After spending half an hour picking out an outfit, she felt ready to head over to Adora’s place. She chose a pair of cuffed gray skinny jeans, ripped at the knees, a red tank top and a black leather jacket. She popped the collar on the jacket, put a little bit of pomade in her hair to give it a little extra texture and checked herself out in the mirror. She cleaned up nice.

Thoughts of Adora kept flooding back in her mind on the walk over. No matter how hard she tried to push them down the sensations of Adora’s touch filled her thoughts. She smiled to herself as she thought of the first time she saw her with the whip cream mustache. She touched her fingers to her lips thinking of what it would feel like to kiss her, to taste the sweet espresso drink on her lips. Stop Catra, she commanded herself. She put her arms to her sides and clenched her fists. Taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh she knocked on the door. Through the door she could hear Adora yelling that she was coming, a small thud, Bow and Glimmer laughing, a few seconds passed quietly, and then finally the door opened.

Adora was standing their holding her head laughing.

“Hi Catra” Adora beamed at her.

“Everything okay?” Catra asked raising her eyebrow.

Adora sighed and chuckled. “Glimmer thought it would be a good idea if I wore heels tonight….Yeah…I made it two second before falling over.”

Now it was Catra’s turn to chuckle. Adora had exchanged the dangerous heels for a pair of lace up flat sandals. She was wearing a pair of mid-thigh jean shorts, a gray shirt with a red plaid shirt unbuttoned over it. She looked tom boyish and absolutely stunning. Bow and Glimmer gave each other that same weird look and waved goodbye as Adora shut the door behind her.

The reason that Catra had moved to this part of Brightmoon was that everything was designed around pedestrians and bicyclists. Well that reason and the seafood. When she had first moved here she was really struggling to sleep and so she’d walk around the city exploring all the shops and hang out places. She’d grown really fond of her city even if she hadn’t made many friends over the years. 

The walk to Spin n’ Toss, an arcade bar with full restaurant, was a quick one and she was excited to see Adora’s reaction to the place. Spin n’ Toss was a really popular place, obviously because of the arcade but the owners, Spinerella and Netossa also made a huge impact to attract patrons. The two women were married and had painted the entire back wall of the bar to be a giant rainbow wave mural. Everybody was welcome as long as they were kind.

“I hope you’re ready to get your butt kicked again” Catra said as they entered the arcade.

Adora’s eyes went wide and lit up with the flashing of games. She excitedly ran between each game, looking more and more amazed. Catra couldn’t help from smiling at how much of a cute idiot Adora was when she got overly excited about things.

“Man I’m really glad I didn’t wear heels now…Is….Is that laser tag?” Adora was staring slack jawed at the neon flashing sign for the laser tag area.

“Oh yeah…I forgot about that…Um maybe that’s not such a good idea” Catra was saying but it was too late. Adora had grabbed her arm and was dragging her over to the entrance.

“Welcome to Spin n’ Toss” Netossa had started saying before she spotted Catra. “Uh uh. Nope. No more laser tag for you Catra. Not after last time.”

“What happened last time?”

“Nothing those kids didn’t deserve” Catra said as she crossed her arms and glared.

“Oh please? I’ve never played laser tag before” Adora pleaded with Netossa.

She took another look at Catra and sighed. “Alright fine but you’re responsible for her.”

Adora squealed and jumped up and down as they were let into the gear room to wait for the rest of a group. They were easily ten years older than most of the kids that were in there. Being both extremely competitive they agreed to be on opposite teams. They were led to their separate team entrances and waited patiently for the game to begin.

Catra smiled devilishly to herself. Things were about to get interesting.


	10. Spiraling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING- There is a large portion of this chapter that is written as intense implied gun violence. No one actually gets hurt but I put a line where that scene is officially over if you feel more comfortable skipping it. The only thing you'd be missing by not reading is that Catra and Adora are wayyyy too competitive at laser tag.
> 
> Official Summary- Catra and Adora learn there's no limit to their competitive nature. Catra starts spiraling out of control.

The lighting was dark, barely enough for human eyes to see but plenty for Catra’s feline eyes. She was poised high in the rafters of the room, creeping silently behind her prey. She watched as he was distracted by the sound of another victim, letting down his guard and giving her the perfect chance to strike. She launched herself down to the floor, landing silently and directly behind her unaware opponent. Raising the gun, she fired directly into his back, and then jumped back up into the rafters before he even knew what hit him.

She watched as both groups of people were thinned. An older blonde led a group of four through the maze-like battlefield. Catra watched as the blonde’s assailants took down two of her team. It was pure chaos after that. People cried and shrieked as guns fired back and forth. Eventually it came down to just the blonde and a well hidden Catra. She could see her below searching for Catra, making sure to check every corner and avoid blind spots. Always moving, always searching for her. She had miscalculated though and not thought of an attack from above.

Catra dropped from her advantage point behind the blonde, firing a shot before landing. It went wide and with rapid reflexes the blonde turned around and fired blindly at the sound. Catra hid behind a barrel planning her next move. She found a piece of debris on the ground, throwing it one direction as she jumped the other for further cover. Shots narrowly missing her as she jumped back and forth, weaving and dodging through objects. She cursed as she realized she had been backed into a corner. Tucked behind a crate she considered her odds if she tried to jump up into the rafters again. At last, she saw an exit. The door was within sprinting distance. If she could just distract the blonde long enough, she could make it to safety.

“Don’t shoot! Please! I think I twisted my ankle.” Catra tried to make her voice sound hurt and weak.

“Do you seriously think I’d fall for that?” The blonde’s voice echoed from somewhere behind her.

“Eh. It was worth a shot” Catra said as she pushed against the crate with both her legs, shoving it in the direction of the voice.

She heard a grunt as the crate made impact. Taking her chance, Catra darted towards the door and kept running.

There was a reason Catra had been banned from laser tag before. She was competitive. Combine that with a feral instinct to stalk and attack prey and there was just no way to stop her primal nature. As intense as the last time had been, this was a whole new level. She had to beat Adora. For the bragging rights. Was it childish? Maybe? Did she care? Not a single bit. 

Catra had ran out of the laser tag room and back into the main arcade area. Just because they weren’t in bounds it wasn’t going to stop her from playing though. Seconds later Adora barreled through the doorway, gun still in hand searching for her. Clearly she had the same idea.

Catra snuck between kids and adults playing games as Adora kept up the chase. She had just hid behind a Masters of the Universe arcade system when she heard Netossa shouting.

“Both of you! You are banned from laser tag! Take off your gear and get out!” Netossa was fuming.

Catra put her hands up in surrender, finger still on the trigger of the gun, and her target still hidden behind the game cabinet. Adora had turned to her side to face Netossa and was slowly handing the gun to her. Without any warning she turned to Catra and fired off a shot, missing her barely exposed target by inches. Catra fired back and ran for the exit. Adora was hot on her heels shooting wildly. As Catra pushed through the front door of the arcade she jumped, looked back and midair fired, hitting Adora’s target.

* * *

Adora followed Catra down the street and into the side alley next to the arcade. Both of them broke down laughing and trying to catch their breath. Adora clutched her chest dramatically and stuck her tongue out as she faked being injured. She fell to the ground, eyes closed as Catra cradled her in her arms laughing and shouting.

“Adora! Please you have to wake up!” Catra could barely speak from how hard she was laughing.

Adora placed a weak arm on her back and smiled softly at her.

“You’re such an idiot” Catra said with a chuckle.

“Yeah I know.” Adora’s smile growing wider.

“I lo-“ Catra cut off mid-word. Her eyes darted away from Adora’s as she realized she’d almost said she loved her. Where had that come from? She felt herself spiraling back into her thoughts as she pushed away from Adora.

“Hey Catra are you okay?” Adora asked as she got up and dusted herself off.

“Yeah, yeah just a little headache. We should go turn the gear back in before Netossa sends Spinerella out to hunt us down.”

Catra barely responded when Netossa glared at them and took the gear from them at the door. They walked back to Adora’s place and she barely said a word. Adora tried to keep up the conversation but Catra wasn’t paying attention. These feelings were too much to handle and she knew she was going to explode soon. She just had to hold it in until she got to her apartment, at the very least away from Adora.

“I had a really great time tonight Catra…are you sure you’re okay?” Adora asked with a hand on her arm.

She pushed the arm away softly, but she was out of time. Boiling hot tears started to streak down Catra’s face, leaving lines in her fur. Adora wrapped her arms around her as her body shook with wracking sobs. They stood there in silence as Adora just held her. Catra’s tears slowed and she took a few big breaths, a sob still escaping her throat. She hated herself for breaking down in front of Adora but the fear of being alone kept her in place. 

“Please tell me what’s wrong Catra. I’m sorry if I did something” Adora said still holding her.

Catra couldn’t make herself talk. There was so much she wanted to say, that she was practicing line for line in her mind, but she couldn’t force her lips to move. She stood there wanting to scream. To shout. To be able to do anything but nothing happened.

“Alright, we don’t have to talk about it but please come inside. I’ll keep Bow and Glimmer away. Just stay. Please” Adora whispered softly to her.

Every muscle in Catra’s body was prepared to run but she stayed rooted to the spot. Everyone had run from her when she got this way. When they thought she was refusing to tell them things when really her brain wouldn’t let her talk. People always gave up after awhile and left. Left her all alone.

Adora let go of the embrace to take Catra’s arm and very gently led her inside. Bow and Glimmer were in their room with the TV on so she continued her walk of shame. Catra sunk to sit on the bed as Adora locked the door behind her. She came and sat next to Catra on the bed, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“I’m here for you Catra” Adora said as she brushed a strand of hair out of Catra’s eyes.

“Can we just lay down?” Catra asked, her throat hoarse from crying.

Adora let Catra curl up into a ball and then wrapped around her. Her arm draped over her, holding her in place. Gentle tears fell from her eyes. Adora’s hand traced small circles up and down her arm, the most peaceful sensation she’d ever known. Her tail tip flicking gently was the only indication she was even awake.

Maybe Adora did want her. She had asked her to stay. She was still holding her. But Adora didn’t act like she wanted Catra. Not like she wanted her. 

After a while Catra heard Adora snoring gently, still holding onto her. Exhaustion took her too and she drifted off to sleep.

Her sleep was filled with nightmares again. Adora was there as the giant woman again, this time fighting with a sword against the creepy Horder’s inspector. Hordak was there too but his eyes were completely white and devoid of emotion. The inspector struck Adora on the side and Catra watched helplessly as she crumpled and fell to the ground.

She woke up in a cold sweat, in a dark room she didn’t recognize and panicked. Something was holding her down so she hissed and pushed away.

“Catra! It’s okay it’s just me” a voice called out.

Catra was still in full panic and raked a claw against the shadowed figure lumbering towards her. Her breathing was rapid as she prepared to defend herself.

She finally realized where she was and with whom when she heard Adora wince with pain. Catra fell to the floor, tucking her knees to her chest. The room suddenly bright as Adora turned on the light and came over to her, a large scratch across her nose.

“Catra it’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it.” Adora comforted her but held back.

After several minutes of just sitting there Adora helped her back to bed. She cleaned the wound on her face and laid back down to hold her. The rest of the night she dozed on and off as flashes of nightmares woke her up. Adora gently stroking her arm as she felt her tense each time. By the morning they both looked exhausted and laid there in silence. 

Catra wanted to leave before Bow and Glimmer got up. Adora asked her several times if she was okay and it started to annoy Catra. She wasn’t weak. She just didn’t know how to handle her emotions. Adora gave her a gentle hug as she was leaving and Catra just stood there. When Adora let go she took one last look at what she had done to Adora’s face and left without saying goodbye.

Catra locked herself in her room and curled into a ball. She ignored the knocking at the door from Scorpia and Adora’s texts. She would do what she needed to control her feelings. No matter the cost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said I was going to be busy and not write this one right away? I lied apparently :)
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- fixed a timeline issue and added a little more angst to Catra's breakdown


	11. Cortado and Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra makes a deal to get everything she wants. But is it really what she wants?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright folks. Things are starting to wrap up and I have a good idea of the ending but we gotta get through some serious angst and pain first. 
> 
> I'm guessing I'm about 2/3 done with this story that I set out to write blindly. I may continue on with a sequel but I need to see how this ends first.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- increased the timeline and added some stuff about Prime making Catra do things. fixed a couple typos

Catra was wide awake well before her alarm went off for work in the morning. Her feelings had become a pit, a void, an empty space of nothingness. Forcing every feeling she had for Adora down into the deepest part of her had made her numb to any interactions. Everyone could be ignored or dismissed and she would focus entirely on her work. Pouring all her energy in it. She didn’t need anyone.

She dressed quickly, gelled her hair back and left with time to be early for work. She had just gotten everything ready when she heard the door open. Assuming it was Scorpia and Lonnie she started barking out an order but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who it was. The inspector from last week was standing there, his hands clasped behind his back and smiling at her.

“We’re not open yet…” Catra said weakly. The flashes of nightmares playing in her mind, every hair on the back of her neck stood up on end.

“Oh what a shame. Would you make an exception for me? The cortado you made was…exquisite.” He accented the pause before the last word by looking her up and down, measuring her every reaction. Catra had never been more afraid of someone in her life.

Lonnie and Scorpia walked in before she responded. She calculated her options. The inspector was hired by the national company that owned Coffee Horders. She could tell him to leave but Hordak would be brought back immediately and she would probably be fired. She could make the drink and possibly twist this to her advantage, get rid of Hordak once and for all.

“Lonnie, please take over finishing opening up the front while I make our guest his order” Catra said calmly, still staring directly at the inspector.

His horrifying smile followed her every move as he sat down at a table where he could directly watch Catra. She worked as quickly as she could, hand shaking and her heart beating rapidly, to make the drinks She brought it to the table and had started to turn away.

“Catra…please sit with me for a moment” he asked.

“I’ve been rude. I haven’t officially introduced myself to you yet. My name is Prime. I am the lead inspector for Coffee Horders and have been watching Hordak for some time now. His management has been…lacking” he said as he took a sip of the cortado. She sat silently trying to understand his motives.

“I see potential in you Catra. That’s why I had Hordak transferred to the other store. With you under my direct lead I believe this store could be the pride of my company.”

Catra searched his eyes for any hint of emotion. All she found was a cold, terrifying look of determination. Absolutely sure of the power that he held and the steps he would take to bend her to his will. He had offered her everything she wanted. Was she willing to work with him to be in charge?

Catra took one last hesitant look at him and stuck out her hand.

Prime smiled ravenously and shook her hand. “Excellent choice Catra.”

He left shortly after finishing his drink, letting her know he’d be back tomorrow to discuss plans. Even after he left she felt like she was being watched constantly. She snapped at Lonnie and Scorpia several times for not being fast enough and eventually locked herself in the office under the guise of finishing paperwork. She was just staring at the wall, emotionally blank and yet terrified at the same time. She felt as she had made a colossal mistake but couldn’t think of a better way out of the situation. She had worked so hard to convince Hordak to make her team lead and now she was finally assistant manager. Prime could get her even farther, she just had to be wary, to plan her every move and calculate the risks.

Her phone buzzed finally bringing her out of the stupor.

Adora: _Hey Catra please let me know you’re okay. I haven’t heard from you since yesterday and I’m worried._

Catra: _Everything is fine. Just been busy._

Adora: _Okay… Well I’m here for you if you want to talk about anything. Also did you still want to come to the ninja race trials?_

Catra: _Idk I’m really busy with work._

Adora: _Oh sure. Well they’re next Wednesday at 4pm if you get time. It would mean a lot to me to know you’re there._

Catra didn’t respond to the last text. She couldn’t decide if she should go. The emotional void that she had created would let her handle Adora in small doses, but she couldn’t be close to her and hold everything in place like this.

She stayed late at the shop working on random things and avoiding the others. The sun had set when she was finally leaving for the day.

“Oh hey Catra. I didn’t even know you were here” Kyle called as she left the office. He was moping the back room at a leisurely pace.

“Why aren’t you done with mopping yet? You need to clean the fridges when you’re done with that. Quit messing around Kyle” Catra snapped at him.

“Sorry Catra. I promise I wasn’t messing around. It was just a lot dirtier than normal. Scorpia accidentally spilled a container of mocha earlier.”

“I don’t have time for your lame excuses. Get back to work before I fire you.”

That night the nightmares of Prime and Adora were even longer, even more vivid. Prime was there and had taken over the strange dream planet. Adora was still laying injured on the ground, struggling to stand back up but too injured to fight. Everything was turning a sickly green as she watched Adora collapse, defeated at the foot of Prime.

Waking up from the dream she felt even more conflicted on if she should trust Prime. Something about him was so deeply unsettling. She was restless and got to work even earlier than yesterday. She had everything in place to open and was waiting at a table with a cortado made before Prime got there this time.

Prime made it a habit of coming in every day before Scorpia and Lonnie showed up so that he could talk with her privately. Some days he just checked in on how the store was doing and other days he gave her small tasks. At first they were small things like giving him some supplies from the back room to take to another shop. Other things he asked her to do seemed suspicious though like changing the numbers on some of the orders to make it look like they were using more than they actually were. The first time she tried to ask him about it he told her not to worry but after that anytime she questioned him he would get angry. The whole situation felt uncomfortable and wrong but she didn’t want to lose her promotion so she went along with it. 

“Ah good morning Catra. I see you’re taking this opportunity seriously.”

“Let’s just get this over with” Catra said, eyes averted to the floor. She couldn’t handle his stare.

“Very well. I’d like to discuss changes to your staff. Hordak may have been an insufficient leader but he did keep detailed notes about his employees, and it seems that many of them aren’t as worthy as you. For instance, Scorpia. She’s not exactly an ideal employee. There were several warnings in her files for improper conduct and she’s…” he paused looking for the correct word. “Frankly, she’s expendable. You could easily hire someone able to handle inventory and work the register. I want you to fire her and then find her replacement.”

Catra looked horrified as she stared at Prime. She couldn’t believe that he wanted her to fire Scorpia. Sure, she wasn’t the best employee. Sometimes she dropped things and she was always hugging people. But was that enough to fire her? Catra knew how hard a time she had finding a job before this place. People looked at her like she was useless because she was different.

“Clearly she means something to you based on your reaction. That was all I had to discuss today. I’ll give you the rest of the day to think about it but I expect her gone by tomorrow morning. Don’t disappoint me Catra.”

Catra sat there in silence as Prime left. She was stunned, unable to move, unable to think of anything else. She had been sitting there for several minutes before Lonnie and Scorpia showed up for their shift.

“Scorpia…Come to the office with me” Catra said unsure of herself. Could she do this? Was this right?

“Okay Wildcat. Everything okay?”

She closed the door behind them and took a deep breath to try and compose herself.

“You’re fired. You can finish your shift today or leave now. It’s up to you” Catra said refusing to make eye contact with her.

“Oh…okay…I…I’ll just go now if that’s alright” Scorpia said as she got up and slowly left the office. She turned around to say something to Catra but no words came out, finally turning to leave and shutting the door behind her.

Catra slammed her fist on the desk, papers and supplies shook with the outburst. She flung everything off the desk and screamed. Crumpling down onto the floor, she tucked her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth. This is what she had wanted. She was getting everything she wanted. She repeated those lines to herself over and over, hoping they’d come true. She knew they rang hollow. She knew she was making a mistake, but she saw no way out of this. She made her decision, now she’d live with it.


	12. No One Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra takes the last good thing in her life and throws it away.

Catra wasn’t aware of her body moving forward as she left Horders. Her feet moved on autopilot towards an unknown destination. She wasn’t headed home, but it wouldn’t have mattered because her thoughts were a thousand miles away. She was revolted with herself for putting her career before Scorpia. Scorpia, the only person that had stuck by her side no matter how hard she pushed her away. The only person she’d ever met that was so full of love that she was practically bursting with it. Catra would never be able to fix this. She’d be alone forever. No one would ever trust her after everything she had done.

Sounds of a crowd finally registered as she realized where she was. She had walked in circles aimlessly and ended up at Whispering Woods Park. At the Ninja Race. By Adora.They had hung out once or twice this when Adora stopped by for coffee but Catra had never bothered to explain what had happened after laser tag. She was too embarrassed and just wanted to forget the whole situation. Adora hadn’t pressed on the situation but they also hadn’t talked much since then. 

She wanted Adora to hold her and tell her everything would be alright. The trials had started long ago, and it looked as if the crowd was starting to thin as the last few contestants went. She sat down in the bleachers. Even if Adora was gone this was better than going home and seeing Scorpia. She didn’t appear to be around when they finally announced her as the last contestant for the day. She watched Adora, she looked confident, bouncing up and down to keep her muscles warm. She took one last look into the crowd and locked eyes with Catra. Her smile was so bright that it started to pierce the armor around Catra’s heart. Adora got down into a sprint position and the trial began.

The normally clumsy Adora was graceful and confident as she sprinted to the first obstacle. She weaved back and forth on rocky platforms, leapt elegantly over short walls, and made the salmon ladder look like it was for children. Catra watched the way her arms flexed and propelled her up the ladder and onto the ring toss. She was onto the final obstacle, the warped wall. She charged the wall funneling all her power into her legs, her fingers missing the lip of the wall by inches. She slid back down and shook her head. She turned to the crowd as she caught her breath before a second attempt. Catra recognized the look in her dark blue eyes. It was the same look from the face of the bigger version of Adora in her nightmares. Determination. Perseverance. A willingness to take every bit of strength she had and never let it go. Catra let out a small gasp.

Adora turned back to the wall and rocketed up the wall, easily grabbing the lip of the wall and pulling herself up. The crowd clapped modestly, they’d probably watched two dozen people do the same exact thing, as Catra stared at her dumbfoundedly.

Adora’s time was fast enough to easily carry her forward to the official race in less than two weeks. The crowd started to disperse but Catra stayed in the bleachers, waiting for Adora. She watched as Bow and Glimmer and a bunch of other people came up to Adora, hugging her and clapping her on the shoulder to congratulate her. An especially tall and muscular woman walked over and Catra watched as Adora blushed and admired the woman. Her light purple skin covered only by a crop top and shorts, her white hair in a long ponytail with shaved sides. They talked animatedly and it was clear that they had some sort of instant connection.

Catra’s vision went red. Had she really thought Adora wanted a worthless nothing like herself? Someone that would sell out her friends just to get ahead. She was nothing to Adora. Her claws dug into the bleachers hard enough to scratch the metal. She got up while Adora continued talking and left. Every feeling she had for Adora was fuel in the furnace of her rage. She was nearly out of the park when she felt an arm grab her shoulder. She didn’t turn around and kept walking.

“Catra wait, where are you going? Please just tell me what’s going on. I’ve barely heard from you all week. I miss you.” Adora asked her as she got in front of Catra and stopped her.

“I thought you’d want to be with your new friends. I’m just getting out of your way.”

“Catra why are you doing this?” The confusion and hurt in Adora’s voice were icy needles stabbing at Catra’s heart.

“Catra…” Adora didn’t finish her sentence.

Catra forced herself to look Adora in the eyes, willing her tears to hold back. A being of pure rage and hurt.

“What do you want Adora?....What do you want…from me? Catra asked. The anger in her voice turning to sadness and vulnerability as she said the last two words.

Adora just stared at her, tears forming in her eyes.

“Please Catra…I need you” Adora said with her arm extended. Pleading for Catra.

“You don’t need me Adora. You never did.”

Catra turned and ran. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. All the feels on this one. Good news is that it's been suprisingly easy to find the words I want. Bad news is this stuff is tough emotionally to write but I think it's necessary for Catra to learn that she's a big dummy.
> 
> A friendly reminder (mostly to myself) to tell people how you feel and not bottle it up :)
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- fixed some timeline and added a couple sentences. doesnt really change the dynamic of anything.


	13. Rock Bottom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra finally breaks down. Someone helps her find her way back.

A few days went by and she didn’t hear from Adora at all. It was for the best she reminded herself. Work dragged by and Prime’s requests got bigger and more complicated. He was having her change numbers in the accounts receivable and payable ledgers. She didn’t care anymore and did whatever he asked. Things were very tense at work between her and the rest of the team. With Scorpia gone everyone kept to themselves. Too afraid of Catra and how she might lash out at them.

She wasn’t sleeping well or hardly at all and had taken to gelling her hair back every day just to not have to deal with it anymore. She wished she could see Adora and fix things, but she had ruined everything so completely now. She wanted to fix things with Scorpia but she always had her door closed when she got home from work and Catra was too afraid to reach out to her first.

It had been an especially tough day and Catra felt the anger churning inside her, threatening to boil over. She clenched her fists, bared her teeth, and left. She quickly walked home and slammed the door to her room behind her. She fell onto the bed, screaming and ripping at the sheets. She slashed a pillow sending feathers flying around the home. Tears streamed down her face as she kept throwing things. Suddenly she felt Scorpia’s pincers lock her arms down.

“Catra stop. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

All the energy and anger were sapped from her body and she collapsed in Scorpia’s arms. The tears started flooding out and she was sobbing uncontrollably.

“It’s okay Wildcat. I’ve got you” Scorpia calmly spoke to her.

Eventually she ran out of tears. She felt empty, hollow. So utterly lost and alone even though Scorpia was there.

“I’m sorry but this is for your own good Catra” Scorpia said as she grabbed the ripped blanket and wrapped Catra up, bundling her and cradling her like a baby. She didn’t even fight her. Just laid there, eyes blankly staring at the ceiling.

“Catra I’ve known you for years now. You are a wonderful person but you’re so stubborn. You push everyone away instead of asking for help. You bottle everything up instead of letting anything out. Instead of letting anyone in. Entrapta and I are here for you, but you gotta let us in Wildcat.”

Catra let out a small sad chuckle. “If I let you in then you’ll know how much of a failure I am.”

“Oh Catra. You’re not a failure.”

They sat in silence for a moment, Scorpia still holding her, gently rocking her back and forth.

“Scorpia…I think I made a really big mistake. I don’t know if I can fix it.”

Scorpia sighed. “Whatever it is, you don’t have to do it alone. We’ve got your back.”

Scorpia looked over to the doorway where Entrapta was there, weakly smiling giving her a thumbs up.

“I don’t understand any of this but I’m in” she said nearly shouting.

Catra looked up at Scorpia with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry I fired you Scorpia. I thought if I did what Prime told me that I could get everything I want. I didn’t think about you or anyone else. I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve been a terrible friend to you. I’ve been so horrible to everyone. I…I pushed Adora away. And I don’t think she’s gonna give me another chance.” Catra was back to sobbing but her eyes were no longer producing tears, her body shaking silently. Her eyes and throat burned.

“Don’t worry about me Wildcat. I got a job before; I can find one again. I see the way Adora looks at you Catra. She wants you. When she was drunk and I was trying to watch her, seriously how is she so sneaky… Right sorry getting distracted. All she did was talk about you when I was watching her. She wants you Catra. She just might not know how to say it.”

Catra looked at Scorpia in shock. Adora wanted her?

“Are…you…Are you sure? That she wants me?” Catra asked timidly. She couldn’t imagine a world without Adora and was terrified of the idea of being wanted by her.

“Absolutely sure Wildcat. But you’re going to have to talk to her.”

“Could you let me out of this blanket….please” Catra asked. As soon as she was free, she wrapped her arms around Scorpia. Scorpia smiled and embraced her back.

“Thank you” she mumbled into Scorpia’s carapace.

She walked over cautiously to Entrapta, rubbing the back of her neck for comfort.

“I never really gave you a chance Entrapta. I’m sorry. I just didn’t even try to get to know you.”

“Oh, it’s alright. I’ve been recording data on you, both of you, for a long time now and was aware of your fear of rejection and aversion to common social standards, like small talk.”

“I…I’m just going to ignore that part about recording me….but thank you?”

“You’re welcome!” Entrapta yelled at her.

Catra took a moment to collect her thoughts. She had really fucked up, but these two people still wanted to be there for her. To give her a chance to redeem herself. Maybe there was still a chance with Adora too. She doubted herself but she had to try.

“I think I know how to fix this…but I need your help. Both of you” Catra said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my third chapter today.... send help. Just kidding. I'm fueled by angst. 
> 
> Scorpia is best girl and deserves all the love in the world.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- Added a few paragraphs to the beginning to fix the timeline and stuff with Prime.


	14. Redemption Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ****WARNING- I have a long scene with intimidation and physical violence in this. I'm putting a line where it ends if you would like to skip it. The summary of that section is that Prime gets arrested for hurting Catra****
> 
> Note- I have a scene in here where the cops are called to arrest someone. This is a fantasy world where citizens can safely call on them to do their job when needed. This is not a reality in the U.S. and many other countries. Please consider donating to https://blacklivesmatter.com/ or protesting if you are able to do so. BLACK LIVES MATTER. TRANS LIVES MATTER.
> 
> Chapter Summary- Catra works out a plan to deal with Prime and officially begins her road to redemption.

Catra had the store opened and prepped for the day a full hour before she needed to be there. Normally the silence of the store was a peaceful respite from the screaming children and loud patrons. Today was different. The silence felt threatening, dangerous even. The air felt charged with electricity and causing her fur to stand on end.

Prime arrived at his usual time just before Lonnie would be starting. Catra was leaning against the bar, trying to look casual by staring at her nails. The cortado she made for him, still steaming as he sat down to the table. She felt anything but casual. Everything about Prime terrified her.

“Good morning Catra. Won’t you join me at the table?” Prime asked. His tone gave no indication of his emotions. Carefully calculated to be pleasant but cold. She remained where she was.

“Very well. Tell me Catra. How did it go with the last task I asked of you? I understand some of these requests I‘ve been making have been rather strange but they are important to the store achieving success. I’ve been very impressed with you thus far. Firing Scorpia was an excellent decision and you handle it surprisingly well. The first time you terminate an employee can be rather difficult. Especially for someone….with such strong connections.” His last words had been selected to hurt her. To anger her. She wouldn’t let herself get distracted.

Finally looking up at him, she moved from leaning against the bar to slightly closer to his table and replied. “Actually, I never fired her. Not technically at least. I never filled out the paperwork. Instead though, I just filled to promote her to shift lead.”

Prime quickly stood up, his chair scraping against the floor, and slammed his hands against the table. He looked ready to scream at her but took a second to compose himself before walking closer to her. She had struck a nerve by defying him. A crack in his perfect composure that could give her a chance.

“Why do you rebel against my wishes Catra?”

He was circling her, observing her reactions. She felt the panic rising in her as he walked slowly behind her.

“Have I not offered you everything you’ve ever wanted?”

He returned to in front of her. His cold eyes piercing into her.

“Scorpia had been on time every day. She works harder than anyone else here. Sure, she may care a little too much about people. She may not be able to work the register. But that doesn’t make her worthless. She. Is. Not. Expendable.” Every word of her last sentence punctuated with a fierce determination to protect her friend. Catra was controlling the anger that filled her, using it for once to defend people instead of harm them.

Prime stepped directly in front of her. His much taller stature and close proximity gave her a deep sense of foreboding. Every muscle in Catra’s body was screaming to run.

“If you do not fire her there will be consequences for you Catra.” Prime’s tone was no longer the calculated one. This new tone was dripping with acid, meant to force people to bend to his will, to serve him without question. Catra felt a bead of cold sweat on her forehead. As terrified as she was she did her best to not show any of it.

Catra let out a small laugh. She let her laughter grow in defiance of his demand. When she finally stopped, she took a breath, and glared back up at him. Her eyes were pits of burning rage.

“I don’t care what you do to me. I will never fire her.”

Prime’s composure finally cracked. He stood within centimeters of touching her, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath.

“You will do what I tell you to do! Fire her or I get rid of you!” he screamed at her.

She involuntarily took a step back from his sudden outburst. She hadn’t expected him to be violent. She hadn’t thought this through enough. Her eyes darted back and forth between him and the shop.

“No.” She forced her voice to be as defiant as possible.

Prime suddenly grabbed her by the throat and threw her to the side. She hit the floor hard, her head and shoulder slammed into the bar. She grabbed at her aching head with one hand and tried to push herself away from him with her legs.

He raised his arm to strike her when a flash of red streaked through the air and tackled him.

“Oh no you don’t” Scorpia said as she grappled him.

“Let go of me!” he bellowed, trying to push her off.

Seconds later police cars were swarming the front of the storm. Scorpia backed away from him, her pincers raised cautiously. The police rushed to Prime and arrested him.

“I’ve done nothing wrong!” he screamed as he thrashed against their restraints.

“I think you’ll find the security camera footage says otherwise” Entrapta said as she walked in from the back room.

Scorpia helped Catra up from the floor and forced her to sit through a medical examination. Her neck was bruised where he grabbed her and she had a mild concussion but she would be fine. Physically at least. She was still running on adrenaline and terrified from the whole experience, but her plan had worked.

* * *

After Catra had apologized to Scorpia and Entrapta last night she told them about Prime and how he had coerced her into firing Scorpia and messing with the records. Because Catra hadn’t filed any of the necessary paperwork yesterday so Scorpia was legally still an employee. She told them how terrified she was of him and they worked out that shewould tell him about not actually firing Scorpia. Catra had called the day before to let the rest of the shop’s employees to let them know that they would be closed but they’d get paid for a full shift regardless. 

Scorpia was “working” in the backroom, ready in case Catra needed help and Entrapta was in the office watching the security cameras that were conveniently angled to perfectly film the tables and bar area. As soon as she saw Prime was looking like he may attack she had called the police. The injuries on Catra and the video footage were enough to immediately arrest Prime. The police took their statements, some photos and left.

Catra took a breath and finally relaxed when he was out of sight.

“It’s over. He’s gone” Scorpia said as she looked out the shop in disbelief.

“Good riddance” Catra said as she looped an arm around Scorpia and rested her head on her shoulder.

“Thank you both. I couldn’t have done this without you…I don’t know what he would have done if you weren’t here to protect me. I was terrified of what he would do when you jumped in Scorpia.”

“Oh don’t worry about me Wildcat. I’m the muscle, remember?”

Catra gave her a hug. “You’re so much more than that Scorpia.”

The three of them closed up the shop for the day and started to walk home.

“I need to do a couple things before I go home. I won’t be long” Catra said.

Scorpia tried to protest but accepted it with the promise that she’d call her if anything went wrong or she felt sick. The adrenaline was fading quickly and her whole body started to ache but Catra had to do this.

Catra walked the block or so to Heart Blossom salon. She could see Perfuma inside getting ready for the day. She did her best to cover up the bruises before she entered.

“I’m sorry we’re not open yet… Oh Catra hello. I didn’t see it was you. I’ve still got plenty of coffee but people have been really enjoying it….Is everything alright?” Perfuma stopped talking after she noticed the look of total mind and body exhaustion on Catra’s face.

“I owe you an apology. I was rude to you when we met and I’m sorry.” Catra’s voice was hoarse from the bruising around her throat.

“Oh… yes… well I’m glad you’re working towards fixing your negative energy” Perfuma said.

“I don’t want to bother you too long but…Scorpia talks about you a lot. She’s great and you should dance with her at prom.”

Perfuma blushed. “I would like that. Thank you.”

Catra started to leave. “Could I ask you for one more thing?”

With that part of her plan in place she had one more place to go and this would be an even harder to stop on the Catra apologizes to everyone train. The exhaustion and pounding headache were threatening to take her over but she had to do this today.

She knocked on the door and waited. Glimmer opened the door and her expression changed immediately when she saw Catra standing there. She stood in the doorway clearly indicating that she wasn’t welcome inside. 

“Adora’s not here Catra” Glimmer said.

“I know. I was hoping I could talk to you actually. I just need a minute. Please.”

Glimmer stared at her, sighed and finally stepped outside, closing the door behind her. She knew Glimmer was lying about Adora being home, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t want Adora to see her like this anyways.

“I…I screwed up. I know. I hurt Adora. I pushed her away because I was afraid….I was afraid of telling her how I feel about her.” Catra paused as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

“I don’t expect you to trust me or forgive me or whatever but I… I need Adora and I don’t know if she’ll take me back or if she even likes me but…I have to try.” Catra was crying too hard to continue talking. She felt herself physically crashing and wasn’t sure she could get through this if Glimmer wouldn’t give her the chance she needed to prove herself.

Glimmer gave her a gentle hug and then held her by the shoulders.

“Catra she needs you too. She’s been a mess since she came home from the trials. She can’t go through this again with you. So you’re going to have to be better.”

“Thank you” was all Catra could say between choking sobs.

Glimmer let go of Catra and wiped a few tears from her own eyes.

“So, what’s the plan?” Glimmer asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright folks it looks like I've got three more normal chapters to write and then an epilogue. I'm pretty confident that i'll have a short sequel to this within the same AU but I may take a break before writing that.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- Fixed some typos and timeline stuff. Added a little more dialogue but nothing crucial


	15. Prep Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra sets up further repercussions for Prime before her and Scorpia go shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For people reading as I go- I goofed and miscalculated the number of chapters I need to finish the main story. There should be two more after this then an epilogue.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- Fixed timeline and typo issues

There had been a second part of the plan to defeat Prime that, honestly Catra was extremely impressed about. Entrapta was good at a lot of things, mostly being very strange, but really had a way with computers. She had spent the night before searching databases looking for any past records of Prime. What she had found shocked all three of them. Turns out that there had been several police reports filed from previous employees of other store branches that felt Prime had forced them into doing things like firing staff or forging records. Every single one of the reports had the charges dropped the employees had been fired. Was Horders covering for Prime? She was pissed but knew that this time it was different. Catra had video footage and witnesses to back up her testimony. 

After Catra had told Glimmer her plans she trudged her way back to her apartment. All she wanted in the world was to collapse into her bed, still shredded and covered in feathers, and sleep for a week straight. Well that and have Adora there with her for the week. Well that and maybe have some fun with Adora. She was getting distracted. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she touched her neck gently and winced at the pain. She got out her phone and called the Horder’s internal management number to let them know what had happened today. They transferred her several times and asked a ton of questions that made her head throb even worse, but she provided as much detail as she could and gave them the information of the police officer that had taken her report. There would still be a lot of work to do, including figuring out how to pay for a lawyer, but she would do everything she could to make sure that Prime and anyone who helped him would get taken down. No one would be hurt or manipulated by him ever again.

Catra sighed and flopped back onto the bed, a small poof of feathers flying up into the air. She tucked her feet up and turned over to her side to crawl up into a ball. Everything faded to black as she finally succumb to exhaustion.

Catra slept in small bouts for the rest of the day. Scorpia obsessively checking on her every hour was annoying, but she was too tired to care. She’d twitch her tail, swish an ear or two, and let out a small huff to let Scorpia know she was fine and then fall right back asleep.

The recurring nightmare, well she couldn’t even call it that really, was very different this time. Prime was gone but giant Adora was there wearing a new skintight white and gold outfit. Her entire body glowing in a warm rainbow light. Okay this dream was pretty gay even for Catra’s standards. Also…incredibly hot. Her normally dark blue eyes were the same piercing light blue, her hair a golden blonde tied up in a ponytail that flowed down her back. She walked towards Catra, her face showed her unfaltering resolve. It was that same exact look that she had seen on Adora at the ninja race. Adora stopped directly in front of Catra, towering over her in this state. Catra had a second to look, more like gawk, at how much more muscular she was like this before a perfectly chiseled arm wrapped tightly around her waist and pulled her in until their hips touched. She blushed as Adora smiled and leaned down, pressing their foreheads together for a moment before placing her other hand on Catra’s cheek and leaning further in for a kiss.

Catra woke up right before their lips had touched, a streak of drool smeared across her cheek. She groaned and flailed around, throwing a small temper tantrum that sent feathers everywhere. She sat up, feathers still stuck to her face and pouted. Adora was a tease, even in her dreams. But that dream. She didn’t mind having that every night. She bit her bottom lip and looked over at her clock, she had managed to sleep through till late morning. Her whole body ached, especially her shoulder that had hit the bar yesterday. She dragged herself over to the shower and took her time just standing under the hot water. When the water finally started to turn cold, she got out and toweled off. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her fur was always so fluffy after a shower and made her look ridiculous. She smoothed her tail down before leaning in to examine her neck. The bruising around her neck and on her shoulder was dark in contrast to her light orange and brown striped fur. She would have to choose her outfit wisely today to help cover it up. She got dressed in the sweatshirt and shorts that Adora had borrowed and headed out for the kitchen.

Scorpia was there delicately holding a cup of coffee in her pincers listening to Entrapta talk about some invention she had made. Catra really had no clue what she did. She swore Entrapta said she was an anthropologist? She shrugged and made a mental note to ask her at some point.

“Hey Wildcat! Glad to see you’re up. Here this is for you” Scorpia said as she handed over the coffee.

Catra fought the urge to just pour the whole cup onto her face. There wasn’t enough caffeine in the world for today.

“Did you sleep okay? I came in to check on you at one point and you were twitching and mumbling a lot. You were drooling quite a bit too. Do you think that’s because of the concussion? Should I call a doctor for you? Oh no what if you have brain damage?” Scorpia asked a barrage of questions.

Catra blushed and tried to cover it by holding the mug up to her face and taking a sip of coffee. That must have been when she was dreaming about Adora. She was quickly lost in thought. Thoughts about how she could see Adora’s thigh muscles through the white suit. Thoughts about Adora’s arm firmly pulling her in. Thoughts about how soft Adora’s lips must be. A quick movement in front of her face finally snapped her out of it.

“Catra? Hello? Oh god, are you having a stroke?” Scorpia was talking rapidly and panicking. She kind of could see why. Catra had stopped for who knows how long, the coffee cup raised to her lips, just staring blankly forward and blushing. She wiped a little coffee from where it had dribbled down her chin.

She let out a frustrated growl. “Stop!” Catra clenched her fists and took a breath. “I’m sorry I got angry. It’s something I’m working on” Catra said making sure to say it as calmly as possible.

Scorpia looked at her with big dumb googly eyes. “Awww you are?”

“Yes. Whatever. It’s not a big deal. Are you ready to go?” Catra asked as she finished the last of her coffee.

“Yes I am. Scorpia reporting for duty” she said as she raised a pincer to her forehead in mock salute.

“You sure you don’t want to come with Entrapta?”

“Oh yeah I’m good. It’s important that I wear comfortable clothes when recording my observations tomorrow. Plus, my pants have pockets for snacks!” she shrieked as she showed off the cookies she had stashed in a side pocket.

“Right…” Catra gave her a suspicious look and headed out of the kitchen to the front door.

The pounding headache Catra had yesterday dulled to a mild throbbing today. She was really thankful that prom wasn’t till tomorrow because this was going to take all the energy she had.

The walk to the formal wear store was only a few blocks and it felt nice to have the sun radiating on her fur. It reminded her of the warmth of dream Adora’s glowing light. She couldn’t think about that right now. Had to think about something else. Like how good Adora was going to look tomorrow. Nope. Nope. Nope. Not helping. She sighed. This was gonna be tougher than she thought.

Catra had almost instantly found the suit she wanted. The coat and pants were a deep maroon color with the trim of the lapel in a lighter hibiscus pink. She found a shirt to match the trim and a black bowtie to complete the look. The tailor would need to make a few minor adjustments to the fit, but they let her know it would be ready to pick up tomorrow morning. She was all set to go when she turned around and found Scorpia. She couldn’t even formulate a sentence for how bad the dress was that she was trying on. There were just so many ruffles. And ribbons tied in bows. And was that a petticoat? Catra groaned and ran her hand over her face and sat down. Scorpia took the hint and went back to the dressing room.

The next dress that she chose was better and somehow worse. The body of the dress fit her well and showed off her figure but there were gigantic shoulder pads and it turned into what she could only describe as a living nightmare midway down her thigh. It even had a matching choker necklace and pincer gloves. Catra and Scorpia both bust out laughing as she headed back to the dressing room.

She tried on a few more dresses that were alright but not really her. The mermaid dresses and ballgowns just somehow didn’t feel right. She had one last dress to try on and Catra was getting impatient and nervous for her friend. She got halfway out of the dressing room and Catra’s jaw dropped. This was the one. An elegant black one shoulder floor length dress that fit her perfectly. A large slit on the side showed off her strong legs and the red ruby waist cinch helped accent her hourglass figure. Catra smiled. Catra had no idea how tomorrow was going to go but at least they’d look hot as hell. 


	16. Prom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra gets her chance to make things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Pride month everyone!  
> I want to say another huge thank you to those who have given me feedback and encouragement. I was able to make this chapter a lot better than I originally planned and because of that it is much much much longer than any other chapter. It was an absolute blast to right and worth the extra time.

Catra went early in the day to pick up her suit and Scorpia’s dress. She had text Glimmer to make sure everything with her part of the plan was going well. Her last pre-prom stop was to pick up her order from Perfuma, a red rose to wear on her lapel, and then she was ready.

Pride Prom was easily the biggest event for the LGBT+ community in Brightmoon. It always started with a large buffet followed by performances from some of the best drag and burlesque performers, and finally a dance party. The banquet hall it was hosted in was decorated with copious rainbows and sparkled with pounds and pounds of glitter. Track lights of varying colors illuminated the room as Catra entered on Scorpia’s arm with Entrapta following behind making observations. They had arrived fashionably late. Well, they had arrived late because Entrapta couldn’t decide which recorder would be best. The hall was pretty busy and people of every gender and sexuality were mingling and enjoying themselves. Catra let go of Scorpia’s arm as they spotted Perfuma. She made up an excuse about wanting to get a snack from the buffet table and left the two to talk. Catra smiled to herself. She was really happy Scorpia had found someone who seemed as loving and open as she was.

Catra looked around the room hoping she might spot Bow and Glimmer. Instead she found Netossa and Spinerella in a corner glaring at her. She made a mental note to find a way to make it up to both of them. She also spotted Entrapta on the second-floor balcony, talking into her tape recorder and looking through a pair of magnifying glasses. She looked like she might fall when she spotted Adora grab her and pull her back from the ledge. Catra’s breath caught in her throat. Even from this far away she could tell Adora looked lovely. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much time to think about that before she bumped directly into someone’s back.

“I’ve been told I have a magnetic personality, but this is ridiculous…Oh hello Catra. Are you ready for your little act tonight?”

“Double Trouble? Is that you?” Catra asked confused.

“The one and only, kitten.”

Double Trouble, a perfect stage name for them, was the most famous drag and burlesque performer in all of Brightmoon. Tonight, they were dressed in an elaborate blue and purple one-piece suit with a feathered tailcoat. They had even painted their normally green skin a shade of light blue. Catra had met them a few years ago after a show and had been instantly drawn to them. They we’re charming and witty and devilishly cunning. Their friendship had sort of fizzled out but Catra had reached out to them for help with her plans for tonight.

“Thank you again by the way. I couldn’t have set this all up without you.”

“I’ll send you the bill later darling. But for now, I’ve got people to entertain. Bye kitten” Double Trouble said as they walked off.

Catra looked back up to where Adora and Entrapta had been but they both had disappeared. She did however finally spot Bow and Glimmer who were chatting in a corner by themselves.

“Catra!” Bow said as he grabbed her and hugged her tightly and picked her up.

“You look great Catra” Glimmer mumbled into her side as she trapped her further into the hug.

She made a disgusted face but fought the urge to run away. She still needed their help.

“Okay, okay that’s enough. Put me down please. I just wanted to check in that everything was ready? We can go over the plan one more time if you want.”

Glimmer gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Relax Catra. Everything is going to be great. Adora is over at the buffet. Oh actually we should probably go get her before she eats the table.”

Catra snorted. Yeah, that girl could really eat. She looked over her shoulder and sure enough Adora had a giant plate of food in her hands and was still grabbing more food to put on it.

“Okay. And thank you again. You two have been really great to me and I owe you.”

With everyone in on her plans she tried to relax. She found a spot somewhat hidden behind a pillar where she could get a better look at Adora. Glimmer had taken her earlier in the week for dress shopping and enthusiastically encouraged her to pick a red dress that might just happen to coordinate perfectly with a certain suit that she was wearing. It was a simple high neck two-tone red dress that was banded in the middle by a thin tan belt. She had chosen tan lace up flat sandals, a red rose tucked behind her ear, and a gold butterfly hair pin. Catra suspected Glimmer had picked the last accessory. Catra’s favorite part though was how the dress was cinched in the back to show more of her defined shoulders and upper back. She watched as Bow and Glimmer talked to Adora and made her laugh, almost causing her to choke on her food. Catra snickered as soon she realized Adora was okay. She couldn’t believe she had fallen for this disastrous girl. It had been only a couple months, but their bond had been so instantaneous that she felt like she’d known Adora her whole life. She wanted to know everything about her. She wanted to wake up next to her dumb drooling face every morning. She wanted to kiss every scar from every clumsy injury. First, she just had to make things right starting tonight.

The spotlight on the stage lit up and everyone clapped as Double Trouble appeared.

“Good evening everyone. I’m your esteemed host Double Trouble.”

The crowd erupted into more cheering.

“Tonight, we celebrate ourselves. Our love. Our defiance. We as a community must stand together in the face of adversity and show everyone that we are not afraid. Our love is stronger than any hatred.”

Double Trouble paused to allow the crowd to cheer and clap even louder.

“Alright enough of all of that romantic stuff. Tonight we’re also here to party! So everyone enjoy yourselves and enjoy the talented performers, starting with yours truly” Double Trouble bowed several times before exiting the stage for a few seconds and reappearing somehow in an entirely different outfit. Catra was impressed.

The performances were set to go for a few hours and so it was time to start everything in motion. She took a deep breath and calmed herself before walking up to Adora.

“Hey Adora” she said softly without her usual teasing tone.

“Catra….I…It’s good to see you” she said smiling but her eyes looked sad.

“Could I steal you away for just a minute?” Catra offered a shaking hand out for Adora to take. She was finally close enough to see the faint outline of the scratch on Adora’s nose that she had concealed with makeup. She tried her best to not let the sensation of guilt overtake her other feelings of hope and reconciliation.

Adora took a second to think before smiling slightly and gently placing her hand in Catra’s. Bow and Glimmer who had been standing there gave her a sneaky thumbs up and went back to watching the performance. The tingling sensation in Catra’s hand was so much stronger than before. The butterflies in her stomach picked up the pace as she led Adora through the crowd and out on the balcony. It was a perfect night and the stars were just starting to come out. They found a fairly secluded spot where they could take privately.

“You look beautiful tonight Adora” Catra started. “Well I mean you look beautiful every day, but I mean especially tonight. I mean not like you look bad ever but yeah.” Great start she thought to herself. Her anxiety had turned back into the bumbling idiot that she was when they first met.

Adora blushed but didn’t say anything, just waited for Catra to continue.

“So…I…um...I owe you an apology. Well a few apologies. Okay a lot of apologies.” Catra was starting to really feel out of control and she cleared her throat to try and get her thoughts back together.

“I’m not good at talking…Clearly...” She said with a chuckle.

“I get angry and I make bad decisions and I lash out at people I care about.”

She paused to take a breath.

“Sorry I’m not trying to make excuses…I’m just trying to…Words are hard.”

Catra started staring at the floor trying to keep herself from crying. She felt like she was really messing this up. Adora still didn’t say anything but took her hand and squeezed it. Catra smiled at the ground and squeezed back.

“What I’m trying to say is I am truly sorry for hurting you Adora. I’ve been terrible to you and I would do anything to get a chance to make it up to you.”

Adora wiped a few tears from her eyes before speaking. “I know we haven’t known each other for long but you’ve become so important to me…I could see how upset you were after laser tag and I just so badly wanted you to feel like you could talk to me. Like you could trust me. And then you just shut me out.”

Adora let her hand fall free from Catra’s. She wanted to frantically reach back for it. She wanted to crumble into a million pieces. She stayed where she was. Adora deserved to say how she felt. Even if it wasn’t what Catra wanted to hear.

“I thought I might never see you again. And then when you came to the trials, I was so excited to see you. And you pushed me away even harder. I felt devastated Catra.”

“You had asked me what I wanted but…I…I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure and I was still figuring things out for myself. I’m still figuring things out, but I want you in my life Catra. But I can’t go through this again. I can’t go through you getting so close and pushing away when things get scary.”

“I knew I should have come to apologize sooner but I was afraid. I thought Bow and Glimmer…I thought you all hated me” Catra said quietly staring at the ground. All of her plans, all of the work she was doing. It was going to be for nothing if Adora wouldn’t give her a chance.

Adora pulled her chin up to look in her eyes. “I never hated you.”

Adora let her chin go and sighed. She turned away from Catra but didn’t move more than a step.

“Adora I have a lot to make up to you. To prove to you. But if you give me a chance…I know I can be better. To you. To everyone...Just stay...Please.”

Adora turned back to look in Catra’s eyes.

“I missed you so much” was all Adora said before smiling and hugging her.

They were both crying gently now as they hugged for a long time. They finally moved apart enough to press foreheads together.

“I have a lot of work to do on myself, but I would have never admitted it without you. I want to…I need to earn your forgiveness. I need to do better. And if you stay I know I can be better.”

“Okay. I’ll stay” Adora said smiling. Catra reached up to wipe a tear from Adora’s cheek. She let her hand linger there and Adora turned her head to press her lips into her fingers.

“You look pretty good yourself by the way” Adora said as she reached down to adjust Catra’s collar. The look on her face turned to confusion and then worry as she pushed her collar to the side to look at her neck. Catra winced from the touch and gently pulled her hand away. 

“It’s a long story. But I’m okay now. I promise.”

Catra and Adora stayed on the balcony for over an hour talking about what had happened with Prime. Adora never let go of her hand and looked horrified as she told the story about everything he had done. Catra reaffirmed that everything was okay and talked about her plans for the lawsuit. Adora still seemed concerned but accepted that they would talk more about it later. As much as Catra wanted to stand here all night talking to Adora she had plans still.

She felt elated that Adora was going to give her a chance to make things right. She didn’t know what she would do if she hadn’t. Other than have a very embarrassing talk with Double Trouble about cancelling her plans to start.

Catra let go of Adora’s hand finally and started to walk back inside. Adora just stood there for some reason. Probably trying to process everything.

“Are you coming?” she asked, smiling and reaching her hand back for Adora.

Adora smiled and grabbed her hand.

Once inside she led Adora back to Bow and Glimmer who both hugged her and smiled. Catra excused herself saying she needed to use the restroom.

Double Trouble came back on the stage, in a third outfit, as the last performance of the night ended.

“Let’s have one last round of applause for all of our wonderful performers tonight” they said clapping and bowing.

“Before the dance party starts, we have one more special performance. Everyone please welcome to the stage Catra.”

Some light applause and many confused murmurs came from the crowd as Catra walked out on the stage. Double Trouble handed her the microphone and gave her a kiss on the cheek before bowing once again and exiting.

Catra cleared her throat. This was the most nerve-wracking thing she had ever done. But she had meant it when she said she was going to try and do better by everyone and public embarrassment was a great way to prove that.

“Good evening everyone. My name is Catra. And I’m a big gay idiot.”

A few chuckles came from the crowd as she paused.

“No, really it’s true. I’m a huge idiot. I’ve been a terrible friend to some absolutely wonderful people and so I’m up here to apologize. Not just to my friends but to all of you that I’ve been a jerk to over the years. I thought that being on my own was better. Safer.”

She walked across the stage and was starting to take the stairs down to the floor, a soft blue hued spotlight trained on her.

“But I was wrong. It turns out that having good people in your life is so much better than being alone. Real shocker right? Like I said. Idiot.”

A few more chuckles came from the crowd as she continued walking.

“See when you’re as much of an idiot as me it takes someone really special to make you realize what’s actually important.”

A pink hued spotlight appeared directly above Adora. She tried to back up out of the spotlight but Bow and Glimmer stopped her and held her in place before moving themselves out of the light. Catra was nearly to her now.

“And so, I, Catra, would like to officially say that I am sorry to all my friends, to all my acquaintances, to the owners of Spin n’ Toss, that one was on me my bad, and lastly to you Adora.”

Catra was standing directly in front of her now. The blush on Adora’s cheeks was nearly as red as her dress and she had tears in her eyes.

“I love you. I always have.”

Catra handed the mic off to Bow without looking away from Adora.

“You love me?” Adora asked as she put her arm around Catra’s shoulder.

Catra chuckled. “You’re such an idiot.”

“I love you too.” Catra’s eyes went wide with shock for a moment as she processed Adora’s response. Her eyes searching for any sign of rejection, of hesitancy, of fear. She found nothing but love in those dark blue eyes. She had hoped she would say it back, but it was still so amazing to hear. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might burst.

Catra wrapped her hand around the back of Adora’s head and closed her eyes before leaning in. Pausing half a second before pressing her lips to Adora’s. Her lips pressed back, and they were just as soft as she had imagined. Tingling spread throughout her whole body.

It felt like fireworks were exploding inside Catra. She was so lost in the kiss that she had almost forgotten the hundreds of people around them. Almost.

The entire crowd erupted in cheering. Spotlights of every color lit up the entire room and a disco ball began to rotate throwing beams of light everywhere.

Catra pulled away from the kiss first, laughing and smiling and crying all at the same time. Adora beamed back at her and embraced her tightly.

“Alright everyone let’s party!” Double Trouble announced from the stage. Catra would have seen that they had in fact changed into a fourth outfit, but she never took her eyes off Adora’s.

Music began pumping and people flocked to the dance floor. Catra and Adora were still embracing when Bow and Glimmer came over and hugged them so hard that they almost all fell over. Everyone laughed and smiled as Catra and Adora continued to hold hands. Bow and Glimmer shared their parts of the plan. Glimmer had had a lot of conversations to check in with Adora to help her process her thoughts and feelings about her sexuality as well as specifically about Catra. Adora was still trying to figure out the first part but was confident that she liked Catra. After that they had helped Adora find the right dress, picked out a matching flower for her hair, and tipped the lights crew to help with the spotlight work.

Catra gave Adora a kiss on the cheek and excused herself for a moment. Scorpia was standing off to the side of the dance floor talking with Perfuma. She ran up and hugged Scorpia tightly on her side.

“Thank you again. For everything” Catra said.

“Anytime Wildcat.”

“And thank you again Perfuma. I should get back to Adora but I expect to see you both out there dancing” Catra said with a wink and left.

A slow song came on just as she made it back to Adora. She put one hand behind her waist and the other in front of her. Adora placed her hand in Catra’s and they started to rock back and forth on their heels before slowly spinning. Catra grabbed Adora’s arm before spinning herself in close to Adora.

“I thought maybe my plan wouldn’t work.”

Catra quickly twisted around, one arm up while the other arm grabbed Adora by the waist to dip her. Adora’s arm grabbing tightly to her shoulder while her leg popped up flirtatiously between Catra’s legs.

“But then again. It looks like it has” Catra said with a mischievous smile before planting a kiss on Adora’s lips. As much as she wanted to hold Adora and kiss her like this all night long Adora was very muscular and very heavy for her much more lithe frame. Catra pulled her back up to standing and they pressed themselves together, Adora’s arms around Catra’s waist and her arms up on Adora’s shoulders.

It turned out that Catra and Adora both really didn’t know how to dance other than to slow songs so when the fast songs came on they both were mostly just laughing and jumping around. She could see people got a little annoyed when they would bump into them but she couldn’t really make herself care. Catra loved how bright Adora’s smile was and it felt contagious. She still had a lot of work to do but for tonight she knew they could just be happy and have fun.

Most of the rest of the night was a blur of dancing and laughing and having an absolutely wonderful time. Catra spotted Bow and Glimmer staring at them several times and she kept sticking her tongue out at them.

Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio had heard from Scorpia about what happened after the store had been suddenly closed for the day. They came over at one point and she made sure to apologize to everyone and officially introduce Adora to them. Catra had only spoken with Rogelio a few times since he worked at a different Horders but she was a little surprised to see him holding hands with Kyle. It somehow worked though and she was happy for them.

Netossa and Spinerella even stopped by before leaving.

“Good work today Catra. I really hope you stick with it and do better” Netossa said. Spinerella was smiling at her wife and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Does that mean we’re not banned from laser tag anymore?” Adora asked with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Absolutely not” Netossa said sternly.

Catra smirked and Adora frowned. Yeah, she had burned that bridge pretty well. Maybe they could find another laser tag place in town.

“You are welcome to stop by and visit though. Anytime you’d like….And if you need any tips or tricks we’re happy to help” Spinerella said with a wink as they turned to leave.

Catra blushed at that and Adora looked confused.

“Tips?” Adora whispered to Catra. Oh no. Was she really going to have to spell this out for her?

“Yeah….For later…” Catra said biting her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing.

“Later?” Adora still wasn’t getting it.

Catra groaned a little. “For the bedroom Adora.”

Catra could practically see the gears in Adora’s skull grinding. Something clicked and then she looked horrified and blushed. Catra was going to tease her mercilessly for this but for now she just gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

“Don’t worry though. I want to take things slow. We don’t have to rush anything. But you’re welcome to spend the night if you’d like to just cuddle and sleep.”

“I’d like that very much” Adora said.

They took their time saying goodbye to all their friends. Catra even managed to spot Entrapta again who was conversing with a group of drag queens. Entrapta waved at her and went right back to mumbling in her recorder. Perfuma and Scorpia were still slow dancing and talking and she was really happy for her friend. She said a quick goodbye to them both and then her and Adora walked back to Catra’s place hand in hand.

As soon as they got to Catra’s bedroom she realized she had made a mistake. They both stared at her bed that was a mess of feathers and blanket filling.

Catra blushed. “I might have a little bit of temper problem to work on.”

Adora scooped Catra up in her arms and threw her at the bed. Catra let out a tiny scream as she flew through the air and an explosion of feathers flew around the room. She quickly grabbed a somewhat intact pillow and threw it back at Adora, more feathers flying everywhere. Full out pillow and blanket fluff warfare ensued until both of them were laughing so hard they couldn’t breathe and they flopped onto the bed. They laid there a few minutes just enjoying each other’s company.

“Alright I’m exhausted. Let me grab you some clothes to sleep in and I’ll try and clean this up a bit” Catra said as she got up and went for her closet.

She picked out a pair of shorts and a tank top for Adora and grabbed a pair of boxer shorts and baggy t-shirt for herself. If Adora asked why she got a tank top she would have said it was the only clean thing she had but really she just wanted to look at Adora’s arms some more. She left the clothes and a spare toothbrush in the bathroom for her and quickly changed herself before trying to make the bed slightly more habitable. She pushed the destroyed blanket on the floor and tried to make a pile of feathers on top of it. It was mostly a hopeless cause, but she tried before giving up and grabbing some spare pillows and a blanket from her closet.

Adora came out of the bathroom and sat down on the bed while Catra went in to brush her teeth. The t-shirt didn’t help to cover the bruises on her neck and it was pretty ugly looking. She sighed and headed back into the bedroom. Adora had laid down on her back with her eyes closed and her arms up behind her head. Catra stood leaning in the doorway for a minute admiring her. She could really see the scratch on Adora’s face now with her makeup washed off.

“Hey Adora” Catra said with a smile.

Adora kept her eyes closed. “Hey Catra. Are you just going to stand there staring at me?”

Catra blushed. “Whatever I wasn’t staring.” She crawled into bed and curled up into Adora’s side wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the scratch on her nose.

“You were staring. I could feel it.” Adora finally opened her eyes and smirked.

“Yeah well it’s not cause I like you.” Catra tucked her face into Adora’s neck. An involuntary purr started up in her chest. She didn’t try and stop it.

Adora snorted and wrapped her arm around Catra.

“It’s cause I love you.”

“I love you too Catra” Adora said as she placed a kiss into Catra’s hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned in previous comments, the next chapter is the last official story chapter before the epilogue.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- fixed a few typos and one sentence for the timeline.


	17. A Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra goes full cat. Adora competes in the ninja race

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is the final chapter. Sort of. I've had some great feedback from people and I'm continuing on with a second part of the series. More details to come soon.
> 
> 6/3/20 Edit- fixed some typos/grammar/timeline issues  
> 6/5/20 Update- I have chosen to actually just end this work and make what was going to be the epilogue the beginning of a one shot series in the same AU.

Catra woke up early the next morning and stretched. Well she tried to stretch as her arms and legs bumped into the back of a cute blonde girl passed out in her bed. She snorted before nuzzling into Adora’s side, letting out a small purr. Adora was snoring slightly, hair and feathers covering her face, and Catra still somehow thought she was cute. Catra purred a little louder and started kneading her claws gently into Adora’s back trying to wake her up. Adora mumbled a little in her sleep but didn’t move. A wicked smile formed on her lips. She snuck to the kitchen, grabbed the whip cream and put a little on Adora’s hand. Plucking a loose feather from Adora’s hair she started to rub it on the sleeping girl’s nose. Adora’s arm went to subconsciously scratch her face and whip cream went everywhere. Catra was on the bed next to her trying to quietly laugh as Adora tried to open her eyes and sit up.

“Hmmm wha time izzit?” Adora mumbled sleepily.

Catra tried to keep an innocent face but kept laughing. “Hey Adora” was all she could get out as she tried to hide her snickering behind her hand.

Adora blinked her eyes open a few times before staring at Catra. “Why are you laughing?” Adora asked as she went to wipe her face with the hand that still had whip cream remnants on it. She only smeared it onto her face further and stared at her hand utterly confused.

“What?...What did you do?” Adora was glaring at her as she sniffed the unknown substance. Catra watched and laughed even harder as Adora tentatively licked her hand. Once she figured out it was whip cream, she took some off her face and smeared it onto Catra’s. Catra let out a tiny scream and reached for the hidden cannister, managing to get a good amount onto Adora’s face before she grabbed the can from her and hid it behind her back.

“Come on Catra. I can’t believe you’re still pulling such childish, immature IS THAT A MOUSE?” Adora yelled the last line and pointed to a corner of the room.

All of Catra’s hair stood on end. Tail poofed and claws out, she was ready to attack. “What! Where?” Catra asked, her eyes searching frantically.

Adora laughed at her. “Wow. I didn’t think I’d get you with that one.”

Catra glared at her before pouncing on her, pushing her over and licking Adora’s whip cream covered face from chin to hairline.

Adora let out a cute scream and tried to wipe her face clean. Catra snickered and hopped off her.

“Alright quit goofing off Adora. I’m gonna go shower. I still have to head into Horders today to talk to some of the upper management about Prime.” She got up and rubbed her neck. Still painful but not as tender today. Adora hopped off the bed and leaned in to give her a kiss but at the last second brought the whip cream cannister up and covered her face in it. Catra just glared at her as Adora streaked a finger through the mess and licked it off.

“I’ll go make us some coffee” Adora said as she headed for the kitchen. Catra licked a little whip cream off her face as she watched Adora walk away.

Catra didn’t want to keep Adora waiting long so she showered quickly trying to get the whip cream from this morning and glitter from the previous night off. She hadn’t even touched or worn anything with glitter and yet it was everywhere. She’d be washing it out of her fur for weeks.

She dried off and wrapped up in a towel. She was still trying to comb her claws through her hair when she headed back into the bedroom.

Adora had cleaned the whip cream off her face and was sitting on the bed staring at her with a coffee cup in her hands. Her mouth open. Just staring at her. Catra panicked and looked down to make sure she had actually come out in a towel. No, she had the towel still.

“Do you have brain damage or something?” Catra said waving a hand in front of Adora’s face before taking the coffee cup from her.

“You’re….just…so….fluffy” Adora said barely above a whisper, her eyes twinkling.

“Adora. Whatever you’re thinking. Don’t. I’m warning you.” Catra was slowly backing away. Maybe she could run and lock herself in the bathroom before Adora could get to her.

“Oh come on Catra please. I promise I won’t make a big deal about it. You just look so soft. I can just brush your hair if you don’t want me to touch your fur. Please please please please” Adora said with big dumb googly eyes and a frown. She looked cute when she pouted. And Catra did like when she rubbed her ear that one time…

“Ughhhh fine. But I’m gonna to put some clothes on you perv.”

Catra went into her closet and changed into a loose-fit crop top and shorts. She was just going to let this really hot girl pet her and she wasn’t going to purr or drool or do anything else embarrassing. Sure, they were dating? Maybe? They hadn’t said it officially. She should probably work on that. But this was still a level of intimacy she was nervous about. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulder and walked out. Adora was sitting on the bed trying to do what she must thought looked casual but in fact looked extremely awkward. Catra rolled her eyes, grabbed her brush from her bedroom and went to sit next to her.

“Here. I have this comb” she mumbled.

Adora smiled before starting to gently brush her hair. Catra had everything under control. Definitely wasn’t loving every second of this. She just needed to tip her head a little, she wasn’t leaning into the brush or anything.

Catra closed her eyes as she felt Adora adjust to sit behind her, one of her strong legs pressed against her while the other tucked behind her back.

“So, what do you have to do today?” Catra asked mostly to keep herself from purring.

“Not much. Need to train a bit and I have some meetings this afternoon but that’s about it.”

Adora put the comb down and started gently smoothing the fur down on her arms. A soft purr started to rumble in Catra’s chest. 

“I like when you purr” Adora said as she ran her hands down Catra’s arms before wrapping them around her waist and resting her chin on Catra’s shoulder.

“I should really get to work” Catra said as she leaned her head back, Adora kissing her cheek. Her purring was so loud now that Scorpia could probably hear it all the way down the hall.

“I’m not stopping you.” Adora said as she gently rubbed the small portion of fur on her stomach that was exposed below the shirt. She was purring and enjoying how good it felt and then before she could stop herself, she launched forward and bit Adora on the arm. She quickly spun around to make sure Adora was okay. Luckily, she hadn’t broken skin.

“I’m so sorry Adora! My belly is really sensitive” Catra said looking horrified. She had never bit someone before. Well at least not since she was a kid. And that had been fair, kids were jerks.

Adora’s face quickly changed from shock to pain to a smirk. “If you wanted to bite me you should have just said something.”

Catra snorted and rolled her eyes, a wide blush spreading across her cheeks. She did not have time to think about kinky Adora.

“You’re such an idiot. But I really have to go. Are you ready? I should have just enough time to walk you home.”

Adora grabbed her clothes from the night before and slipped on some shoes. They held hands the whole way back to her place, just talking and enjoying each other’s company. When they got to her door Adora pulled Catra in by the waist and pressed their foreheads together.

“If you need to talk or anything after the meeting you know where to find me, okay?”

“Yeah right.” It came out cold and instinctively. She felt Adora pull back a bit. Catra sighed. “Sorry, uh still a reflex. I ‘ll be sure to tell you how it goes. Thank you” she said as she kissed Adora’s forehead.

Catra snuck in one more quick kiss and left for the meeting, which went surprisingly well. The HR rep and regional manager that came both seemed to be on her side and had heard rumors of Prime manipulating people but had never been directly involved with him. Horders had sent over a manager from a different store to help with everything for the time being and agreed with her decision to make Scorpia team lead. They were giving her a week of paid time off and offered her a severance package if she was unwilling to return to the store after everything that happened. She let them know she needed to think about it and would get back to them tomorrow. She also let them know she’d moving forward with a lawsuit regardless of her decision to stay.

She gave Scorpia and Lonnie a wave before heading out. It was still really early and Catra didn’t know what to do with her time off, so she headed over to Whispering Woods. Hopping up on to her usual spot on the climbing wall she laid down on the top, closed her eyes and enjoyed the sun’s warmth. Her life had changed so much in the past months and she thought of everything that had happened. Her neck looked better every day and although she still got anxious every time she thought of Prime she knew she could get through this lawsuit. It would be good for her but also maybe it would help other people who had been manipulated by him. She wasn’t used to thinking about other people but she kind of liked it. Adora was slowly helping her become a better person.

The next few weeks were pretty uneventful. Catra decided to keep working at Horders for lack of a better option. She was still manager so she could always quit after she had more experience She spent most of her free time harassing Adora while she tried to work and she even got up a few times with her to train in the morning. Well, she didn’t train but she did watch Adora very intensely. She had to make sure her form was correct on her lifting. It’s not like she just wanted to stare at that beautiful ass or her bulging arms as she flipped tires and did all sorts other weird things.

Adora took the last three days before the ninja race off from work and training completely so they spent the time exploring more of the city, whispering all night, and cuddling all day. They were still trying to take the physical part of their relationship slowly, but she could see that Adora was getting more and more comfortable with herself and her identity. She hadn’t officially come out yet, but she’d be there for her when she was ready.

They even stopped by Spin n’ Toss the night before the race and Adora had a long conversation with Spinerella that Catra pretended to not be watching from across the arcade. She couldn’t hear either of them but Adora had been bright red the entire time and her eyes had bulged a few times. Catra just laughed to herself as she imagined what they could possibly be talking about. After awhile she gave up and decided to play some games.

Catra was just about to start up a Mario Kart race game when Netossa sat down in the seat next to her. 

“Hey Catra, how things been? I heard about what happened with that Prime guy. You okay?” Netossa said as she put some coins into her side and selected Peach. Catra snorted at her choice.

“Hey. Yeah I’m alright. Adora’s helped a lot.” Catra always chose Toad. His speed wasn’t as good but his acceleration and traction on tight turns made it so she could sneak between the pack and get out ahead.

“She seems really great. And you two seem good for each other. Just as long as you don’t play laser tag.”

Catra laughed. “Sorry about that. Again. I’m not sorry I’m about to kick your butt though.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The four-lap race around Bowser’s Castle was full of hairpin turns and drop off cliffs with lava. Catra was easily in the lead at the start with Netossa directly behind her. Between throwing shells and bananas all over the course at each other they swapped between 1st and 2nd throughout the entire race. They were on the final lap and the finish line was coming up fast.

“So did you officially ask Adora to be your girlfriend?” Netossa asked her. The shock of the question was just enough to send her flying off into a lava pit. She slammed her hands on the steering wheel as Netossa took first place.

“That’s cheating! You can’t ask a personal question like that right at the end” Catra pouted and crossed her arms.

Netossa winked. “Maybe you shouldn’t have such an obvious weakness.”

Just then Spinerella and Adora walked up. Spinerella leaning down to give her wife a kiss.

“Your wife is a cheater” Catra said as she still glared at Netossa.

“What’d she do?” Adora asked.

Catra just blushed and mumbled to herself. “I’ll get you next time.”

“Looking forward to kicking your butt again. We gotta get back to work but come stop by again soon alright?” Netossa said.

Catra and Adora decided to head out and find a place for dinner.

“I can’t believe Netossa beat you.”

“Yeah well she cheated.”

“Are you going to tell me what she did? I saw you blushing” Adora asked as she wrapped her arm around Catra’s.

“She asked me if I asked you to be my girlfriend yet. That’s totally not fair.”

Adora stopped walking abruptly causing Catra to get yanked backward. She was blushing and staring at Catra.

“Girlfriend?” Adora just whispered quietly.

“Adora…Do you wanna be my girlfriend? Officially?” Catra asked smiling.

Adora gave her a kiss. “I’ll think about it”

Catra gave her a playful shove and snorted. “You’re such an idiot.”

“Yeah, your girlfriend really is.”

“Are you talking about yourself in third person now?” Catra raised an eyebrow.

Adora just shrugged and kissed her again.

“Alright dork. Let’s go get you some dinner. Gotta carbo load for tomorrow.”

Adora’s hunger for trying new things was one of Catra’s favorite things about her. The way she lit up every time she tried a new food, or they went to a new place made Catra radiate with warmth.

That night they slept at Adora’s so she could get up early and head down to the race first thing in the morning. Catra tried to be comforting but she could tell Adora was really nervous. She’d be nervous too if she had to compete in front of a bunch of people on live television. Catra got woken several times throughout the night by Adora flailing, trying to beat obstacles even in her sleep. When she woke up the next morning Adora had already left but there was a note saying she’d see her down at the park.

Catra took her time getting up before heading out to the kitchen for some coffee. Bow and Glimmer had some freshly made and the three of them talked about how excited they were for Adora.

“And oh her new outfit is going to look so good!” Bow said to Glimmer.

“I can’t believe she got an outfit for this. It does look good though.” Glimmer agreed.

“What new outfit?” Catra asked between coffee sips.

“She didn’t show you?” Glimmer asked.

Catra just frowned into her coffee. She couldn’t figure out why Adora would have hidden it from her.

“Adora likes to surprise people. Don’t worry about it Catra” Glimmer said giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“She probably knew how much you’d like it” Bow said with a wink.

Catra couldn’t figure out what that meant and decided to drop it.

The three of them got down to the competition extra early to make sure they could get good seats in the bleachers for the other competitors. Since they were with Adora they would get to stand on the sidelines when she went so they could get a better look. They had to wait a few hours before the first person would even go and Catra was bored out of her mind. She dozed off a few times, but people were loud and obnoxious.

Finally, the competition got started early afternoon. They had a list of the order of the competitors so they could head down before Adora got started but it looked like it was going to be a few hours before she went. Catra did her best to try and be patient. Adora was worth it she kept reminding herself as people cheered and screamed loudly.

After what felt like an eternity Adora was up next so they headed down to the sidelines, Bow ready with a camera to film the whole thing.

The announcer called Adora’s name as she confidently walked out onto the starting platform.

Catra’s jaw dropped.

“Fuck” was all she said as she stared at Adora.

“Catra don’t swear while I’m filming” Bow whined before cheering loudly for Adora.

Her brain couldn’t process the fact that she was wearing an outfit very similar to the one that Adora had worn in her dreams. Full length white compression leggings with bands of gold on her thighs and a tight white tank top with the same gold accenting on her shoulders and chest. She even had a gold hair band to keep the hair out of her eyes. Was this real? Had Catra fallen asleep in the bleachers and not woken up? She couldn’t figure out how Adora had this outfit, but her mind was already filling with fantasies. She pushed those aside as she tried to focus on the competition. 

The set up of this race was different but Catra had had plenty of time to watch the other competitors and knew what would be harder for her. The buzzer went off and Adora gracefully made her way to and through the angled floating steps, grabbing a rope and landing onto the platform. From there she hopped onto another platform and swung on a trapeze. Her timing was perfect as she flew through the air and both her hands caught the ladder suspended by bungee cords. She was shaking but still holding on confidently and easily landed onto the next platform. She took a quick breath and jumped onto the trampoline propelling herself up into the jumping spider.

Catra watched Adora intensely. Her time was fast enough that she still had a chance of winning as long as she was perfect with the final obstacles. Bow and Glimmer were screaming so loudly. It would have been embarrassing if Catra hadn’t been screaming just as loud.

Adora got through the jumping spider quickly and threw herself full speed at a rope attached to a track system that carried her to the next obstacle. She was spinning at an awkward angle and narrowly avoided missing the round landing platform. Adora ran from there and kept running, straight up the warped wall on her first try and was finally at the last obstacle. The flying squirrel. A stupid name but Catra didn’t care because her girlfriend was about to kick its ass. Adora leapt from the trampoline and onto the first holds, taking two big swings before arcing through the air and catching herself on the second set. Another two big swings and she landed onto the final platform and ran to press the button. The crowd exploded with cheer around her. Adora had beaten the previous time by less than two seconds making her the winner.

Catra was running on all fours to her before she even realized it. She hopped the fence meant to keep spectators out and jumped up onto Adora’s platform. Adora grabbed her and picked her up. Catra had no clue how she had the energy for it, but she squeaked and laughed as Adora spun her around.

“Can I kiss you? On live television?” Catra asked blushing.

Adora smiled and shook her head so hard that it made Catra laugh even harder.

She grabbed Adora’s head in both of her hands and kissed her intensely. The crowd cheered even louder for them, an especially loud cheer coming from two individuals down by the fence. Adora set her down and grabbed her hand as they hopped off the stage. Bow and Glimmer came rushing up and hugging them both in a big messy jumping group hug. Adora never let go of her hand as people swarmed her with their congratulations. The woman that Catra had been jealous about even stopped by again.

“Catra, I want you to meet Huntara. She invited me to take a position as a trainer at her gym, The Crimson Waste. It’s a rock climbing and ninja race gym.”

Huntara took Catra’s hand and shook it firmly, Catra’s whole arm shaking with it.

“I won’t bother you with the details now, but the offer still stands if you’re interested. Either way you should stop by. You’re one lucky girl Catra” Huntara said with a wink and left.

Catra blushed. She wasn’t even jealous this time. Maybe a little. But she knew Adora loved her and she trusted her, so it didn’t matter.

After awhile the crowd dissipated and they were free to head home. Adora would have to stop by tomorrow for an interview and to officially receive her prize money but for now she was all Catra’s.

Adora took a long hot shower and Catra being the good girlfriend she was did her best to massage her sore muscles. She was working on the front of her quads by kneading her hands into them.

“So I was thinking…” Adora started to say as she pulled Catra in close to hold her.

“Don’t hurt yourself” Catra teased as she purred gently and nuzzled Adora.

“Jerk. Anyways. I was thinking I could give you some of the prize money. You could pay for the lawyer or really whatever you want to do with it.”

Catra stopped purring and pulled away enough to look her in the eyes. “It’s your money Adora. You don’t have to share it.”

Adora rubbed her back gently. “I know. I just thought it would be a good use for it. You could save it for the future even if you want.”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. A future I mean. It just never seemed like a thing that was reachable if that makes sense.”

Adora pulled her in closer and Catra laid her head on her chest, the purring starting up automatically again.

“We don’t have to figure everything out now. But take some time and think about it, okay?”

Catra kissed Adora before rolling off her so Adora could spoon her and fall asleep. Adora was out almost immediately but Catra stayed up for a while. Images of what her future could be filled her mind. Images of her and Adora happy years from now. She pictured making Adora coffee and breakfast in bed, having dumb picnics in the park, and squirt gun fights. There would be more dances and so many new foods for Adora to try and maybe laser tag again if they could find a place that would let them. A whole life with Adora.

Happy tears clouded her vision as she smiled to herself. She rolled around to face the sleeping Adora and nuzzled into her neck.

“I love you” she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.


End file.
